FIFA have just published their latest World Ranking table and one thing is immediately obvious - the effect of Euro 2008 and some of the recent World Cup qualifiers has given the global pecking order a major shake up.
To begin with, European champions Spain (sorry, that still makes us laugh) are the new leaders following last weekend's win in the Final over Germany. They were third last month, but now take top spot from Argentina who drop to SIXTH following two draws in the recent South American qualifiers for South Africa 2010 (more of which follows soon).
Italy move up one place to second, deposing Brazil who drop to fourth (they picked up only one point out of the six available in their recent pair of World Cup matches) and Euro 2008 runners-up Germany climb two places to third.
Of the other teams that featured prominently in Euro 2008, the Netherlands leap from 10th place to 5th, Croatia jump eight places to 7th and Russia surge their way up from 24th to 11th. Turkey are also big winners in the July 2008 rankings, moving up from 20th to 14th.
Naturally enough, those teams who failed to impress (and we're looking at you, France, the Czech Republic and Greece) all fell further down the pecking order. Greece, European champions in 2004, suffered particularly badly after their First Round exit in 2008, falling ten places to 18th.
But for a team that wasn't even involved in Euro 2008, it's England that's stolen all the headlines. They're now ranked 15TH having played only friendlies since November 2007 - a drop of six places. That puts them just one place above Scotland, who move up a position, and just five above Ghana.
A special mention this month, though, goes to Suriname, the small South American country who rose 58 places to 87th in this month's FIFA World Rankings. A recent win in both legs of their recent World Cup qualifier over Guyana means Suriname (population: 470,000) are now ranked just four places below China (population: 1.3 billion).
Fabio Capello, you've seen how it's done...
Showing posts with label Euro 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Euro 2008. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Monday, 30 June 2008
Euro 2008: What next for England?
It's our great pleasure now to welcome back an old friend to Some People Are On The Pitch that we haven't heard from for some time. Kedge has been watching Euro 2008 with great enthusiasm over the last few weeks, but now the action's all but over he wonders whether England fans can afford to be optimistic about what's to come...
Now that the Euro 2008 football festival is over and the long wait for domestic football starts again (unless you are in Russia), it's time to mull over what the future holds for England on the international scene.
Some people have said that Euro 2008 was a particular success because England were not there. Certainly that's difficult to argue with when, because everyone was so friendly and peaceful, the organisers could dispense with crowd segregation for the Final.
However, as qualification for the 2010 World Cup is about to start, I have one question (well two actually) that's begging to be asked.
Now that Spain have laid to rest the title of 'Perennial Underachievers', who will take on that role? Should it be England? After all, we seem to get to quarter finals on a regular basis, usually to lose in a penalty shoot-out. And Spain had lost their previous five penalty competitions until they defeated Italy.
And if we do take over that mantle, can we, like Spain, win another trophy 44 years after our last?
After all, 1966 + 44 = 2010...?
Is that a good omen or just wishful thinking?
Will the next World Cup arrive too soon for an England team being rebuilt rebuild under Fabio Capello or can the wily Italian have the 'Aragones effect' on the Three Lions? Tell us what you think by leaving us a comment. We look forward to hearing from you!
Now that the Euro 2008 football festival is over and the long wait for domestic football starts again (unless you are in Russia), it's time to mull over what the future holds for England on the international scene.
Some people have said that Euro 2008 was a particular success because England were not there. Certainly that's difficult to argue with when, because everyone was so friendly and peaceful, the organisers could dispense with crowd segregation for the Final.
However, as qualification for the 2010 World Cup is about to start, I have one question (well two actually) that's begging to be asked.
Now that Spain have laid to rest the title of 'Perennial Underachievers', who will take on that role? Should it be England? After all, we seem to get to quarter finals on a regular basis, usually to lose in a penalty shoot-out. And Spain had lost their previous five penalty competitions until they defeated Italy.
And if we do take over that mantle, can we, like Spain, win another trophy 44 years after our last?
After all, 1966 + 44 = 2010...?
Is that a good omen or just wishful thinking?
Will the next World Cup arrive too soon for an England team being rebuilt rebuild under Fabio Capello or can the wily Italian have the 'Aragones effect' on the Three Lions? Tell us what you think by leaving us a comment. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Euro 2008: The good, the bad and the barely acknowledgeable
So here we are, then: Day 19 of 19 at Euro 2008. The day of the Final, the day this whole tournament has been leading towards. This is the day where Euro 2008 comes to an end by crowning its new champion.
And that champion will be either Spain or Germany, two teams that have looked impressive at times during this last three weeks but have also shown some frailties too. It's exactly that which makes tonight's Final so eagerly awaited, to say nothing of the fact that neither Italy nor France - two of the recent mainstays of world football finals - will be competing.
To put it succinctly, my head says Germany will win the big finalé, but my heart says Spain - purely and simply because they, more than us, want to lay to rest that label of 'perennial under-achievers' that's stuck with them for the last forty-or-so years.
All in all, however, I'm hoping for a great Final with lots of wonderful football and absolutely no headbutting whatsoever. And so as we look forward to the last match of the competition, let's look back and pick out what were for us the best bits, the worst bits and the staggeringly unexplainable bits.
An unconvincing start
Not sure about you, but compared to the start of the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008's beginnings weren't much to write home about. Frankly, we were a little worried. After the slightly stale opener between the Swiss and the Czechs, we then had the match between Portugal and Turkey which was goalless for the first hour and without a second goal until the 93rd minute. To be honest, we weren't convinced about the prospects of this competition until the fourth match when the Germans turned on the style against Poland. Still, it turned out alright in the end, didn't it?
One for the thesps
What was almost as disenchanting as the lack of early excitement was the prolificness of the play-acting. For a tournament in which the referees were supposed to be clamping down on simulation, it looked decidedly like nothing could be further from the truth. Croatia and Turkey gave us some particularly good examples of theatrical football in the first few matches and when Cristiano Ronaldo took to the field in the second match, the whole event could have gone into some sort of BAFTA-award-winning meltdown. Luckily for us, the football-watching cognoscenti, this unpleasant aspect to the game also abated to our general satisfaction.
Proper football, the way we like to see it
When the tournament did catch fire, boy did we like what we saw. First Portugal took on the air of a team that would live up to their pre-tournament hype as the games went on, then Germany emerged as the professional, efficient outfit we all think of them as. But when the Dutch delivered a brand of exciting counter-attacking football that few could have predicted seeing, everyone was in raptures. They sent a breath of fresh air rushing through Euro 2008 which made everyone sit up and take notice. Spain would also come along to maintain the feeling of excitement by demolishing Russia 4-1 and suddenly we were all set fair on the road to a memorable tournament that we all hoped we'd get.
British TV Coverage
Apologies to all those outside the British Isles, but here's a quick essay on the way we've seen Euro 2008 on our screens here.
The BBC, as ever, were slick and polished about the way they presented the action from Austria and Switzerland. Once again, they had an excellent opening title sequence, had their studio positioned in a spot that overlooked one of the most beautiful areas of Vienna and had the usual, competent personnel on show to set up each match (i.e. Lineker, Hansen, O'Neill, Dixon, etc).
All of which went against them in many ways. The BBC are now very much in danger of being too formulaic in their approach, and if ITV up their game a bit, they might just see some of their followers switching channels in future. Gary Lineker is now starting to look old, tired and slow, relying more than ever on weak puns to get him through a broadcast. Alan Hansen says everything he always did say in the way you know he's going to say it and Martin O'Neill regularly looks like he'd rather be somewhere else... which is exactly the situation Ian Wright decided to do something about not so long ago.
ITV have some catching up to do , but they're slowly doing something about it. While their commentators remain mildly annoying - something which John Motson has admirably avoided after all these years - their choice of guest pundits has been distinctly refreshing. If you discount the regular presence of Andy Townsend, the equivalent of that know-all from down the pub that once had a trial with Millwall, there was Alan Curbishley, Sam Allardyce, Gary Neville - all people that have a current connection with the game outside of TV. What they say is worth hearing because it's relevant.
Best commentary dialogue
Without a shadow of a doubt, this must be credited to the man who makes George W Bush sound like Albert Einstein - David Pleat. While watching Cesc Fabregas control a high pass on his chest before sweeping a shot towards goal all in one movement, he reminded us of a great non-existent footballer with the words:
"...shades of Terry Sheddingham, there..."
A co-commentator without equal, is ITV's David Pleat.
Technical shortcomings
Let's make one thing clear: cameras suspended from wires above the stadium are NOT the way forward. Period.
And if, like the BBC, you happen to be providing a facility via your website where you can watch games replayed after the event, it's probably a good idea to cut out any bits where, for instance, a power cut may have occurred. Watching a caption saying "Sorry for the loss of pictures" for 20 minutes when there's no need to beggars belief.
Good players, bad players
Some competitors rose to the occasion over this last few weeks while others, in some respects, didn't show up.
With some predictability, Austria and Switzerland both showed they lacked the firepower to remain in their own tournament, although undoubtedly Alexander Frei might have proven otherwise if he hadn't got injured so early.
Spain showed off their priceless assets of Villa and Torres while the Netherlands gave us a new name to conjure with in Wesley Sneijder, but for France there were few if any squad members that came out of their three games with any lasting credibility.
Germany, of course, had some familiar names from recent tournaments that were always going to make the difference for them - Podolski, Klose and Ballack to name but three - yet Croatia managed to make their collective kudos count for nothing in the First Round.
Elsewhere, other jewels shone in the alpine sun, and here we feel the need to mention Italian 'keeper Buffon, Portugal's Pepe and Croatia's Luka Modric. Hell, we were even impressed by Spain's Senna, but that's just us.
That feel good feeling
Finally, though it took a little while to develop, we most liked the feel-good nature of Euro 2008. Each game's had a good atmosphere inside the stadium (and outside from what we can make out), there's been some exciting football to watch and even though there hasn't been as many memorable goals as we'd like to have seen, it's been a tournament that left us pining for more when it wasn't there in between rounds.
Oh, and there's only been three red cards throughout. Much to be happy about and much to reflect on with a wry smile when tonight's Final's all over.
And that champion will be either Spain or Germany, two teams that have looked impressive at times during this last three weeks but have also shown some frailties too. It's exactly that which makes tonight's Final so eagerly awaited, to say nothing of the fact that neither Italy nor France - two of the recent mainstays of world football finals - will be competing.
To put it succinctly, my head says Germany will win the big finalé, but my heart says Spain - purely and simply because they, more than us, want to lay to rest that label of 'perennial under-achievers' that's stuck with them for the last forty-or-so years.
All in all, however, I'm hoping for a great Final with lots of wonderful football and absolutely no headbutting whatsoever. And so as we look forward to the last match of the competition, let's look back and pick out what were for us the best bits, the worst bits and the staggeringly unexplainable bits.
An unconvincing start
Not sure about you, but compared to the start of the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008's beginnings weren't much to write home about. Frankly, we were a little worried. After the slightly stale opener between the Swiss and the Czechs, we then had the match between Portugal and Turkey which was goalless for the first hour and without a second goal until the 93rd minute. To be honest, we weren't convinced about the prospects of this competition until the fourth match when the Germans turned on the style against Poland. Still, it turned out alright in the end, didn't it?
One for the thesps
What was almost as disenchanting as the lack of early excitement was the prolificness of the play-acting. For a tournament in which the referees were supposed to be clamping down on simulation, it looked decidedly like nothing could be further from the truth. Croatia and Turkey gave us some particularly good examples of theatrical football in the first few matches and when Cristiano Ronaldo took to the field in the second match, the whole event could have gone into some sort of BAFTA-award-winning meltdown. Luckily for us, the football-watching cognoscenti, this unpleasant aspect to the game also abated to our general satisfaction.
Proper football, the way we like to see it
When the tournament did catch fire, boy did we like what we saw. First Portugal took on the air of a team that would live up to their pre-tournament hype as the games went on, then Germany emerged as the professional, efficient outfit we all think of them as. But when the Dutch delivered a brand of exciting counter-attacking football that few could have predicted seeing, everyone was in raptures. They sent a breath of fresh air rushing through Euro 2008 which made everyone sit up and take notice. Spain would also come along to maintain the feeling of excitement by demolishing Russia 4-1 and suddenly we were all set fair on the road to a memorable tournament that we all hoped we'd get.
British TV Coverage
Apologies to all those outside the British Isles, but here's a quick essay on the way we've seen Euro 2008 on our screens here.
The BBC, as ever, were slick and polished about the way they presented the action from Austria and Switzerland. Once again, they had an excellent opening title sequence, had their studio positioned in a spot that overlooked one of the most beautiful areas of Vienna and had the usual, competent personnel on show to set up each match (i.e. Lineker, Hansen, O'Neill, Dixon, etc).
All of which went against them in many ways. The BBC are now very much in danger of being too formulaic in their approach, and if ITV up their game a bit, they might just see some of their followers switching channels in future. Gary Lineker is now starting to look old, tired and slow, relying more than ever on weak puns to get him through a broadcast. Alan Hansen says everything he always did say in the way you know he's going to say it and Martin O'Neill regularly looks like he'd rather be somewhere else... which is exactly the situation Ian Wright decided to do something about not so long ago.
ITV have some catching up to do , but they're slowly doing something about it. While their commentators remain mildly annoying - something which John Motson has admirably avoided after all these years - their choice of guest pundits has been distinctly refreshing. If you discount the regular presence of Andy Townsend, the equivalent of that know-all from down the pub that once had a trial with Millwall, there was Alan Curbishley, Sam Allardyce, Gary Neville - all people that have a current connection with the game outside of TV. What they say is worth hearing because it's relevant.
Best commentary dialogue
Without a shadow of a doubt, this must be credited to the man who makes George W Bush sound like Albert Einstein - David Pleat. While watching Cesc Fabregas control a high pass on his chest before sweeping a shot towards goal all in one movement, he reminded us of a great non-existent footballer with the words:
"...shades of Terry Sheddingham, there..."
A co-commentator without equal, is ITV's David Pleat.
Technical shortcomings
Let's make one thing clear: cameras suspended from wires above the stadium are NOT the way forward. Period.
And if, like the BBC, you happen to be providing a facility via your website where you can watch games replayed after the event, it's probably a good idea to cut out any bits where, for instance, a power cut may have occurred. Watching a caption saying "Sorry for the loss of pictures" for 20 minutes when there's no need to beggars belief.
Good players, bad players
Some competitors rose to the occasion over this last few weeks while others, in some respects, didn't show up.
With some predictability, Austria and Switzerland both showed they lacked the firepower to remain in their own tournament, although undoubtedly Alexander Frei might have proven otherwise if he hadn't got injured so early.
Spain showed off their priceless assets of Villa and Torres while the Netherlands gave us a new name to conjure with in Wesley Sneijder, but for France there were few if any squad members that came out of their three games with any lasting credibility.
Germany, of course, had some familiar names from recent tournaments that were always going to make the difference for them - Podolski, Klose and Ballack to name but three - yet Croatia managed to make their collective kudos count for nothing in the First Round.
Elsewhere, other jewels shone in the alpine sun, and here we feel the need to mention Italian 'keeper Buffon, Portugal's Pepe and Croatia's Luka Modric. Hell, we were even impressed by Spain's Senna, but that's just us.
That feel good feeling
Finally, though it took a little while to develop, we most liked the feel-good nature of Euro 2008. Each game's had a good atmosphere inside the stadium (and outside from what we can make out), there's been some exciting football to watch and even though there hasn't been as many memorable goals as we'd like to have seen, it's been a tournament that left us pining for more when it wasn't there in between rounds.
Oh, and there's only been three red cards throughout. Much to be happy about and much to reflect on with a wry smile when tonight's Final's all over.
Sunday, 22 June 2008
A marathon, not a sprint
Here's a quiz question for you: what do the following teams have in common? Denmark in the 1986 World Cup, Brazil in the 1990 World Cup, Spain in the 2006 World Cup and the Netherlands in Euro 2008.
The answer: they've all started their tournaments at a roaring pace, only to be knocked out in the second round. To be more specific, each of the aforementioned have won all three of their First Round games, only to be knocked out in the Second Round. If Spain aren't careful, they might join the list tonight unless they find a way to beat Italy.
So just how does a team like the Dutch in Euro 2008 collapse so monumentally just as they've convinced everyone about their credentials as champions elect? In the case of the Dutch, two main factors spring to mind.
Firstly, there's the old 'fatigue' argument to be considered. Wesley Sneijder was quick to point out after the 3-1 defeat to the Russians that when extra time came around, the Dutch appeared to have little energy left for the fight to come, whereas Guus Hiddink's side looked fresh and more than capable of carrying on to the bitter end.
There may be something in this: while the Dutch players came into Euro 2008 having finished a tiring domestic campaign with their clubs, the Russians have so far completed just thirteen weeks of their own domestic league. All those of you wishing to raise this point to the F.A., please do so care of Fabio Capello, Lancaster Gate.
Then there's the argument that any team catching the eye early on in a competition will obviously set the minds racing of the other managers involved. Don't think for a moment that Guus Hiddink wasn't sitting in his luxurious Austrian hotel suite over the last two weeks wondering how he'd beat such an exciting Dutch team if the time ever came.
No, far better to start a tournament discretely and with a considerable amount of stealth if you want your team to capture the trophy. That's what the Dutch did in Euro 88 by losing their first group game against the Soviet team they'd go on to beat in the Final. The Danish side in Euro 92 were even better at making people think they were poor - they drew 0-0 with England and lost 1-0 to hosts Sweden in the First Round before they went on to win the tournament outright. Greece also looked far from convincing in the first few games of Euro 2004… mind you, they failed to look convincing all the way through to the Final, but that's another story.
Yes, there's something to be said for not showing your best hand at the start of a competition as the Dutch did this year. You might win lots of friends for the way you play football in its purest form, but they'll soon be your enemies if you don't give them every opportunity to see it.
If you're visiting SPAOTP, Mr. Aragones, don't say we didn't warn you.
The answer: they've all started their tournaments at a roaring pace, only to be knocked out in the second round. To be more specific, each of the aforementioned have won all three of their First Round games, only to be knocked out in the Second Round. If Spain aren't careful, they might join the list tonight unless they find a way to beat Italy.
So just how does a team like the Dutch in Euro 2008 collapse so monumentally just as they've convinced everyone about their credentials as champions elect? In the case of the Dutch, two main factors spring to mind.
Firstly, there's the old 'fatigue' argument to be considered. Wesley Sneijder was quick to point out after the 3-1 defeat to the Russians that when extra time came around, the Dutch appeared to have little energy left for the fight to come, whereas Guus Hiddink's side looked fresh and more than capable of carrying on to the bitter end.
There may be something in this: while the Dutch players came into Euro 2008 having finished a tiring domestic campaign with their clubs, the Russians have so far completed just thirteen weeks of their own domestic league. All those of you wishing to raise this point to the F.A., please do so care of Fabio Capello, Lancaster Gate.
Then there's the argument that any team catching the eye early on in a competition will obviously set the minds racing of the other managers involved. Don't think for a moment that Guus Hiddink wasn't sitting in his luxurious Austrian hotel suite over the last two weeks wondering how he'd beat such an exciting Dutch team if the time ever came.
No, far better to start a tournament discretely and with a considerable amount of stealth if you want your team to capture the trophy. That's what the Dutch did in Euro 88 by losing their first group game against the Soviet team they'd go on to beat in the Final. The Danish side in Euro 92 were even better at making people think they were poor - they drew 0-0 with England and lost 1-0 to hosts Sweden in the First Round before they went on to win the tournament outright. Greece also looked far from convincing in the first few games of Euro 2004… mind you, they failed to look convincing all the way through to the Final, but that's another story.
Yes, there's something to be said for not showing your best hand at the start of a competition as the Dutch did this year. You might win lots of friends for the way you play football in its purest form, but they'll soon be your enemies if you don't give them every opportunity to see it.
If you're visiting SPAOTP, Mr. Aragones, don't say we didn't warn you.
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Cordoba
People have been remembering the Anschluss Game ahead of tonight's Austria v Germany fixture, indeed ahead of the tournament, and with good cause. For the uninitiated, the name refers to West Germany and Austria contriving a 1-0 victory for the Germans during the group stages of the 1982 World Cup. The result meant that both teams progressed to the second round of the tournament and is, rightly, derided as the game's nadir - on the pitch at least.
However, for those who listened to the Guardian Podcast recorded in the streets of Vienna on the night of Austria's draw with Poland, the chants among the Austrians were of "Córdoba". This is not a reference to where they intend to holiday in Spain, but to the Argentine city where Austria famously dispatched West Germany in a rare victory during the 1978 World Cup. An Austrian name that may resonate to outsiders is Hans Krankl who scored 34 goals in 69 matches for his country and it was he that scored two goals on that day against the world champions, including the winner.
The Germans went a goal up. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's beautiful strike came after some breathtaking build up play instigated from the German's own half. It was another German who equalized. Berti Vogts could not deal with a cross and put the ball through his own net. Austria then took the lead with a lovely strike from Krankl. He took the ball from a left-sided Eddie Krieger cross into the area, turned and stuck the ball past Sepp Maier.
However, as the English media frequently point out, the Germans do not know when they are beaten (which by the way is contrary to what history tells us, but I digress). Bernd Holzenbein's header from a free kick leveled things up before Krankl sealed his place in history. Rainer Bonhof failed to cut out a long ball to Krankl on the left. With plenty of space in front of him, Krankl surged into the penalty area, beat a diving defender and calmly slotted the ball past the hapless Maier to score.
The match is also known as the Miracle Of Córdoba in clear reference to West Germany's Miracle of Berne where, against the odds, the German's won the 1954 World Cup against the Magnificent Magyars. There is even a legendary piece of commentary to go with Krankl's winner. The gloriously named Edi Finger screamed "Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! I am going crazy!" which has echoes of German broadcaster Herbert Zimmerman's legendary radio commentary in Berne 1954 ("Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!... Call me mad, call me crazy!")
The result put West Germany out of the tournament and remains one of the finest moments in Austrian football history (probably). It is the memory of this result that the Austrian supporters will be invoking and the players will be trying to emulate tonight in the hope of creating their very own Miracle Of Vienna.
Watch the goals (and listen to the commentary) on YouTube.
However, for those who listened to the Guardian Podcast recorded in the streets of Vienna on the night of Austria's draw with Poland, the chants among the Austrians were of "Córdoba". This is not a reference to where they intend to holiday in Spain, but to the Argentine city where Austria famously dispatched West Germany in a rare victory during the 1978 World Cup. An Austrian name that may resonate to outsiders is Hans Krankl who scored 34 goals in 69 matches for his country and it was he that scored two goals on that day against the world champions, including the winner.
The Germans went a goal up. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's beautiful strike came after some breathtaking build up play instigated from the German's own half. It was another German who equalized. Berti Vogts could not deal with a cross and put the ball through his own net. Austria then took the lead with a lovely strike from Krankl. He took the ball from a left-sided Eddie Krieger cross into the area, turned and stuck the ball past Sepp Maier.
However, as the English media frequently point out, the Germans do not know when they are beaten (which by the way is contrary to what history tells us, but I digress). Bernd Holzenbein's header from a free kick leveled things up before Krankl sealed his place in history. Rainer Bonhof failed to cut out a long ball to Krankl on the left. With plenty of space in front of him, Krankl surged into the penalty area, beat a diving defender and calmly slotted the ball past the hapless Maier to score.
The match is also known as the Miracle Of Córdoba in clear reference to West Germany's Miracle of Berne where, against the odds, the German's won the 1954 World Cup against the Magnificent Magyars. There is even a legendary piece of commentary to go with Krankl's winner. The gloriously named Edi Finger screamed "Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! I am going crazy!" which has echoes of German broadcaster Herbert Zimmerman's legendary radio commentary in Berne 1954 ("Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!... Call me mad, call me crazy!")
The result put West Germany out of the tournament and remains one of the finest moments in Austrian football history (probably). It is the memory of this result that the Austrian supporters will be invoking and the players will be trying to emulate tonight in the hope of creating their very own Miracle Of Vienna.
Watch the goals (and listen to the commentary) on YouTube.
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Head-to-heads, goals scored and penalties
The last round of group games in Euro 2008 starts today and unusually all the winners of the groups have already been decided, but with only two teams out of it that leaves ten teams fighting over the four runners-up spots. So to help, here's our handy cut-out-and-keep guide to what needs to happen for who.
Group A
Having beaten the only teams that can catch them, Portugal are guaranteed top spot before their final game against the already eliminated Switzerland. Thankfully, with the tie being a dead rubber, we'll be spared Clive Tyldesley losing his load every time Cristiano Ronaldo is on the screen. With their identical records, Turkey and Czech Republic will end up going to penalties on 90 minutes in the event of a draw. The winner will face Croatia on Friday, who are already sure of top place in...
Group B
With top spot assured the Croats can relax in their final game against Poland. The Poles need a win but it may still be not enough to keep them in the competition. A draw between Austria and Germany sees Joachim Loew's men go through to play Portugal on Thursday. An Austrian win however will see them through as long as Poland don't win by more goals. If Poland win by one goal more than Austria, the Poles go through, even if their records are identical - this is due to Poland having a better qualifying record than Austria for the 2006 World Cup. Yep, that's right.
Group C
All manner of nonsense could end up happening in this group - well, apart from Holland not finishing top. If Romania win they will go through, however if they don't and there's a result in the game between France and Italy, the winner of that game go through as runner-up. Italy also go through if they draw and Romania lose by four goals or more. However, if the Romanians end up losing 0-3 and the Italians draw 0-0, Italy go through on UEFA co-efficients - but then they would, wouldn't they?
Group D
Spain are top and will play whoever ends up being runners-up in Group C. The runners-up in this group, who have the pleasure of being knocked out by the Netherlands in the quarter finals, will be Sweden, unless they lose to Russia.
Group A
Having beaten the only teams that can catch them, Portugal are guaranteed top spot before their final game against the already eliminated Switzerland. Thankfully, with the tie being a dead rubber, we'll be spared Clive Tyldesley losing his load every time Cristiano Ronaldo is on the screen. With their identical records, Turkey and Czech Republic will end up going to penalties on 90 minutes in the event of a draw. The winner will face Croatia on Friday, who are already sure of top place in...
Group B
With top spot assured the Croats can relax in their final game against Poland. The Poles need a win but it may still be not enough to keep them in the competition. A draw between Austria and Germany sees Joachim Loew's men go through to play Portugal on Thursday. An Austrian win however will see them through as long as Poland don't win by more goals. If Poland win by one goal more than Austria, the Poles go through, even if their records are identical - this is due to Poland having a better qualifying record than Austria for the 2006 World Cup. Yep, that's right.
Group C
All manner of nonsense could end up happening in this group - well, apart from Holland not finishing top. If Romania win they will go through, however if they don't and there's a result in the game between France and Italy, the winner of that game go through as runner-up. Italy also go through if they draw and Romania lose by four goals or more. However, if the Romanians end up losing 0-3 and the Italians draw 0-0, Italy go through on UEFA co-efficients - but then they would, wouldn't they?
Group D
Spain are top and will play whoever ends up being runners-up in Group C. The runners-up in this group, who have the pleasure of being knocked out by the Netherlands in the quarter finals, will be Sweden, unless they lose to Russia.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Prediction Time
Having successfully survived the first round of matches and had a good look at the teams, the time has come for some predictions on the outcome of the group stages. It's the easiest thing in the world to predict the outcome before the tournament starts because, and let's be completely honest with ourselves, hardly anyone has seen enough of the teams to really know what the hell they're talking about. Most normal people have been focusing on their clubs, rightly so.
This means you can make wild or outlandishly bold claims of expertise, safe in the knowledge that no one else would contradict you as they know as little as you do. However, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and now that we have a little knowledge, let us delve into the murky waters of the swamp that is the Prediction League junkie’s world.
Group A
Portugal
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Turkey
Switzerland will rally and beat Turkey who will play well again but still lose. There may be violence and eggs may pelt Sepp Blatter. Portugal meanwhile will polish off the mediocre Czechs and leave the second place down to the third game. Turkey will rouse themselves long enough to manage a draw with the Czechs and Switzerland will battle for a point against Portugal who will already be home and hosed. That puts the Czechs through on the head-to-head and leaves the co-hosts cursing referees.
Group B
Germany
Austria
Poland
Croatia
The Poles will be extremely demoralised after their defeat ay the hated Germans hands and will not recover quickly enough to defend themselves against the spirited but inferior Austrians. Germany will thump Croatia who are not as good as they think they are and have no strikers. Poland will be desperate not to bow out of the championships without sticking it to someone and will do so against the Croats. Austria v Germany will not be another Anschluss game. However, Joachim Low will field a second string side and the Austrians will squeak a draw. Posts may be hit, players will be sent off and there is bound to be some last minute shenanigans in the penalty area but Austria, against all expectations will qualify. No I'm not tripping.
Group C
Netherlands
Italy
France
Romania
France are dreadful. Everyone thinks the Italians have problems but the French have no Plan B. Short of zombifying Zinedine Zidane and sending him out on a brain-eating rampage, it's difficult to see Domenech's men doing anything. Italy on the other hand still have a chance. They will beat Romania because they must and the Dutch will beat the French. This will leave the Italy v France game as a tense, unpleasant and possibly boring draw that will send Italy through.
Group D
Spain
Sweden
Russia
Greece
Like the French, the Greeks have no back up. They will not score a goal in the tournament. Spain have put themselves in a position where they will have to really go for it to get knocked out. They will be too good for the Swedes and will only have to turn up to beat the thoroughly pissed off Greeks. Russia will not be able to beat the champions and the Swedes will get the point they need to finish runners up.
There we have it. Please feel free to pour scorn over these predictions and mock me mercilessly as they turn out to be total bobbins. You may be interested to learn that, were I a betting man, I’d keep my money in my wallet. Maybe I’ll pop back at the end of the group stage to pour over the remains.
This means you can make wild or outlandishly bold claims of expertise, safe in the knowledge that no one else would contradict you as they know as little as you do. However, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and now that we have a little knowledge, let us delve into the murky waters of the swamp that is the Prediction League junkie’s world.
Group A
Portugal
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Turkey
Switzerland will rally and beat Turkey who will play well again but still lose. There may be violence and eggs may pelt Sepp Blatter. Portugal meanwhile will polish off the mediocre Czechs and leave the second place down to the third game. Turkey will rouse themselves long enough to manage a draw with the Czechs and Switzerland will battle for a point against Portugal who will already be home and hosed. That puts the Czechs through on the head-to-head and leaves the co-hosts cursing referees.
Group B
Germany
Austria
Poland
Croatia
The Poles will be extremely demoralised after their defeat ay the hated Germans hands and will not recover quickly enough to defend themselves against the spirited but inferior Austrians. Germany will thump Croatia who are not as good as they think they are and have no strikers. Poland will be desperate not to bow out of the championships without sticking it to someone and will do so against the Croats. Austria v Germany will not be another Anschluss game. However, Joachim Low will field a second string side and the Austrians will squeak a draw. Posts may be hit, players will be sent off and there is bound to be some last minute shenanigans in the penalty area but Austria, against all expectations will qualify. No I'm not tripping.
Group C
Netherlands
Italy
France
Romania
France are dreadful. Everyone thinks the Italians have problems but the French have no Plan B. Short of zombifying Zinedine Zidane and sending him out on a brain-eating rampage, it's difficult to see Domenech's men doing anything. Italy on the other hand still have a chance. They will beat Romania because they must and the Dutch will beat the French. This will leave the Italy v France game as a tense, unpleasant and possibly boring draw that will send Italy through.
Group D
Spain
Sweden
Russia
Greece
Like the French, the Greeks have no back up. They will not score a goal in the tournament. Spain have put themselves in a position where they will have to really go for it to get knocked out. They will be too good for the Swedes and will only have to turn up to beat the thoroughly pissed off Greeks. Russia will not be able to beat the champions and the Swedes will get the point they need to finish runners up.
There we have it. Please feel free to pour scorn over these predictions and mock me mercilessly as they turn out to be total bobbins. You may be interested to learn that, were I a betting man, I’d keep my money in my wallet. Maybe I’ll pop back at the end of the group stage to pour over the remains.
Monday, 9 June 2008
Shexy football the winner as classy Holland ease past Italy
It was the first real test of Euro 2008's supposed group of death and after 90-plus minutes of breathtaking football, Holland emerged not only as winners but also as real contenders to escape Group C and make a strong challenge for the Championship.
With Orange and Blue colouring Bern's Wankdorf stadium, Euro 2008 sprung into life thanks to one of the tournament's all-time great matches.
The first opportunity fell to Holland's Ruud Van Nistelrooy who latched onto a Dirk Kuyt pass before attempting to round Italy's Gianluigi Buffon. The veteran 'keeper looked to have made contact with the striker but Van Nistelrooy stayed on his feet but the ball skewed out of his path and the chance was gone.
It was on 26 minutes when the deadlock was broken and when the games biggest controversial incident occurred.
Holland's Rafael Van Der Vaart swung in a delicious free-kick which eventually fell to the feet of Wesley Sneijder who rifled in a shot which was poked home by Van Nistelrooy to furious calls for offside from Italian players and supporters alike.
Replays proved that the strike should have been ruled out for offside but that didn't matter to the Dutch support who - already in full swing before th opener - raised the noise level up another notch as Van Nistelrooy rushed over to salute the fans.
Italy wasted no time in pressing for an equaliser and earned themselves a corner which Andrea Pirlo swung in and after clearing from underneath his own crossbar Gio Van Bronckhorst raced down the left flank to receive a cross-field ball from Van Der Vaart before spraying a pass back out to the right onto the head of Kuyt who showed great balance to nod the ball back across goal into the path of Sneijder who cooly swept in a right-footed shot past Buffon on his 24th birthday.
The Azzurri in truth weren't playing that badly but Holland, so often underachievers at major tournaments looked unstoppable.
Ruud could and probably should have killed the game off minutes before the break after collecting a magnificent ball from Sneijder but Buffon pulled off a truly World class save to keep the game just about in Italy's reach.
Italy came forward with wave after wave of attack and on 65 minutes Alessandro Del Piero was thrown into the mix and almost made the difference immediately.
The ageing striker was brought on for Antonio Di Natale and forced fellow veteran Edwin Va Der Sar into a smart save almost immediately, soon after he was found by Pirlo but this time he sent his effort well wide of the target.
Italy's strikers were struggling to find any form with Luca Toni summing up their evening with 15 minutes remaining, firing substitute Antonio Cassano's pass into the Italian faithful behind the goal who must have been resigned to defeat by this point.
The Dutch certainly weren't looking as though they had swapped boots for clogs and continued to press for the killer goal which eventually came 10 minutes before the final whistle.
Pirlo fired in a sweet free-kick which would have beaten a lesser 'keeper no doubt but Van Der Sar rolled back the years to throw himself in the way of the shot and as Holland swept forward, the inevitable became a reality.
Sneijder threaded a lovely ball into the feet of Van Bronckhorst who found Kuyt in turn, a loose touch took the Liverpool man out wide and gave Buffon enough time to rush out and block his effort but the luck was in for Kuyt as the ball fell back into his path and the striker lofted a ball up for the head of Van Bronckhorst who guided a header past Buffon as Gianluca Zambrotta failed to acrobatically clear off the line.
The result will have many betting on Holland for the title after their first victory over Italy in 30 years and the Azzurri's joint heaviest defeat in a major tournament's finals.
If anybody doubted that this years Euro's were going to be about as exciting as Switzerland's nightlife, the event's in Bern on Monday evening should silence those critics and act as a catalyst for Holland to escape the 'group of death'.
With Orange and Blue colouring Bern's Wankdorf stadium, Euro 2008 sprung into life thanks to one of the tournament's all-time great matches.
The first opportunity fell to Holland's Ruud Van Nistelrooy who latched onto a Dirk Kuyt pass before attempting to round Italy's Gianluigi Buffon. The veteran 'keeper looked to have made contact with the striker but Van Nistelrooy stayed on his feet but the ball skewed out of his path and the chance was gone.
It was on 26 minutes when the deadlock was broken and when the games biggest controversial incident occurred.
Holland's Rafael Van Der Vaart swung in a delicious free-kick which eventually fell to the feet of Wesley Sneijder who rifled in a shot which was poked home by Van Nistelrooy to furious calls for offside from Italian players and supporters alike.
Replays proved that the strike should have been ruled out for offside but that didn't matter to the Dutch support who - already in full swing before th opener - raised the noise level up another notch as Van Nistelrooy rushed over to salute the fans.
Italy wasted no time in pressing for an equaliser and earned themselves a corner which Andrea Pirlo swung in and after clearing from underneath his own crossbar Gio Van Bronckhorst raced down the left flank to receive a cross-field ball from Van Der Vaart before spraying a pass back out to the right onto the head of Kuyt who showed great balance to nod the ball back across goal into the path of Sneijder who cooly swept in a right-footed shot past Buffon on his 24th birthday.
The Azzurri in truth weren't playing that badly but Holland, so often underachievers at major tournaments looked unstoppable.
Ruud could and probably should have killed the game off minutes before the break after collecting a magnificent ball from Sneijder but Buffon pulled off a truly World class save to keep the game just about in Italy's reach.
Italy came forward with wave after wave of attack and on 65 minutes Alessandro Del Piero was thrown into the mix and almost made the difference immediately.
The ageing striker was brought on for Antonio Di Natale and forced fellow veteran Edwin Va Der Sar into a smart save almost immediately, soon after he was found by Pirlo but this time he sent his effort well wide of the target.
Italy's strikers were struggling to find any form with Luca Toni summing up their evening with 15 minutes remaining, firing substitute Antonio Cassano's pass into the Italian faithful behind the goal who must have been resigned to defeat by this point.
The Dutch certainly weren't looking as though they had swapped boots for clogs and continued to press for the killer goal which eventually came 10 minutes before the final whistle.
Pirlo fired in a sweet free-kick which would have beaten a lesser 'keeper no doubt but Van Der Sar rolled back the years to throw himself in the way of the shot and as Holland swept forward, the inevitable became a reality.
Sneijder threaded a lovely ball into the feet of Van Bronckhorst who found Kuyt in turn, a loose touch took the Liverpool man out wide and gave Buffon enough time to rush out and block his effort but the luck was in for Kuyt as the ball fell back into his path and the striker lofted a ball up for the head of Van Bronckhorst who guided a header past Buffon as Gianluca Zambrotta failed to acrobatically clear off the line.
The result will have many betting on Holland for the title after their first victory over Italy in 30 years and the Azzurri's joint heaviest defeat in a major tournament's finals.
If anybody doubted that this years Euro's were going to be about as exciting as Switzerland's nightlife, the event's in Bern on Monday evening should silence those critics and act as a catalyst for Holland to escape the 'group of death'.
Euro 2008: Guide to Group D
Group D
The Group of Life, if you will. Some say this is the easiest group to qualify from out of all those featuring in Euro 2008, but if you ask any of the team coaches involved, they'll all tell you there are no easy groups in this competition. We'll leave it up to you to decide...
Greece
Qualifying
Very comfortable thanks. Highlights include a 4-0 trouncing of Bosnia plus a 1-0 away win at political rivals Turkey which may have made up for the 4-0 mullering they received at the Turks hands earlier in the campaign but probably didn't. Still, they scored more points during qualifying than anyone else and they are the Champions, so ner.
Current form
Not that of a team you'd call 'Reigning European Champions'. A recent 0-0 draw with Armenia preceded by a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Hungary will give the coach something to be decidedly concerned about. Then again, they did beat Portugal and Finland earlier in the year, so let's not label them as abject failures just yet.
Reasons to be cheerful
It's basically the same team that won four years ago. The Greeks are comfortable with each other and with the wily Otto Rehagel working his magic they may be dark horses for the group - maybe even the tournament.
Reasons to be grumpy
It's basically the same team that won four years ago. Antonis Nicopolidis (left) gets greyer by the day and not in the George Clooney way. Hero of Lisbon Angelos Charisteas plays for a team that were relegated last season and midfielder Giorgos Karagounis reckons their main weakness is that they don't create enough goalscoring chances. Veteran manager Otto Rehagel may have run out of ideas.
Recent friendlies
May 19: Greece 2 Cyprus 0
May 24: Hungary 3 Greece 2
June 1: Armenia 0 Greece 0
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Fanis Gekas is a goal machine in the Bundesliga (he was top scorer last season with 20 to his name) and will be mad keen to hurl himself in the general direction of the ball every time it gets near the six yard box. He may even get a haircut.
Russia
Qualifying
Guus Hiddink's men sneaked into the second qualifying spot of Group E by grabbing the single point they needed to force out England and Israel. Drawing 0-0 in both matches against group winners Croatia, Russia's main problem was scoring goals. They netted fewer than the other teams in the top four - just 18 - so it was just as well their defence only conceded seven at the same time.
Current Form
In a word, very good. Though they slipped up away to Romania at the end of March, losing 3-0 in Bucharest, they've since put together a run of three successive wins against Kazakhstan, Serbia and Lithuania. OK, not the most prolific of opponents, but it's better than nothing.
A man of some experience (Part 2)
Just like our old friend Leo Beenhakker of Poland, Russia's Guus Hiddink (right) is a man who's travelled the world seeking new challenges in football management wherever he can find one. So what's the full itinerary for this vastly experienced coach? Let's see...
1982-1984 De Graafschap; 1984-1990 PSV Eindhoven (originally as assistant coach); 1990-1991 Fenerbahçe; 1991-1994 Valencia; 1994-1998 Netherlands; 1998-1999 Real Madrid; 1999-2000 Real Betis; 2000-2002 South Korea; 2002-2006 PSV Eindhoven; 2005-2006 Australia; 2006- Russia.
Recent friendlies
May 23: Russia 6 Kazakhstan 0
May 28: Russia 2 Serbia 1
June 4: Lithuania 1 Russia 4
High expectation
As many people will no longer be aware, Russia have failed to progress beyond the group stage of any major competition since the break up of the former Soviet Union. So what makes them think it can be done this time? Well for a start there's coach Guus Hiddink, a man who's already helped Australia and South Korea get to the knockout stages of the World Cup in 2002 and 2006 respectively.
Then there's the confidence-building win over England during the qualifiers, the fact that the players know each other so well from playing at the many clubs based in Moscow, plus the ability to use pace to great effect to get one over their opponents during a match. Plenty to be going on with there, then...
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Dmitri Sychev. The Lokomotiv Moscow striker is known at home as the 'Russian Michael Owen' and not, presumably, because he's injured for 11 months of the year.
His nickname actually derives from the fact that he's quick, has a clinical finish and is very agile, and these qualities have seen him maintain a commendable strike rate wherever he plays. With the national side, he's scored 15 times in 44 appearances and with his current club he's netted 39 in 101 appearances. Just the sort of talent Russia need if they're to secure that elusive second round berth.
Spain
Qualifying
In qualifying, Spain were excellent. Eventually. After an initial 4-0 drubbing of Liechtenstein at home, Spain travelled to Belfast and lost 3-2 to Lawrie Sanchez's men and followed that with a 2-0 away defeat to Sweden.
So far, so bad, but the Spanish team took a good long look at itself and went about the remainder of their campaign with an altogether more co-ordinated approach, winning eight of their last nine games. They finished top of Group F and have gone on to win their four friendlies in the ensuing period. Beat that…
Current form
As just mentioned, Spain are riding a tidal wave of success at the moment. Once the Euro 2008 qualifiers were out of the way, they beat France, Italy and the United States 1-0 and beat Peru 2-1 - all at home. In fact the last defeat the Spanish have experienced was on November 15th 2006 when Romania beat them 1-0 in Cadiz.
Maybe this really is Spain's year to win the Euros, after all?
Recent friendlies
March 26: Spain 1 Italy 0
May 31: Spain 2 Peru 1
June 4: Spain 1 USA 0
Players you might have heard of
Let's put it this way: if you support Liverpool, you'll know the Spanish squad. From Pepe Reina in goal to Alvaro Albeloa in defence, through to Xabi Alonso in midfield, all the way up to Fernando Torres in attack, there's much to be familiar with.
But hey - if you're British and don't support Liverpool, don't worry - you're catered for too! There's also Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas in midfield…
A bit of a character
Coach Luis Aragones is what they used to call 'a bit of a card'. Wherever he goes, controversy follows. First and foremost is his reluctance to pick Raul for the Spain squad at Euro 2008, a decision which has confused and frustrated Fernando Hierro, Bernd Schuster, most of Raul's team mates at Real Madrid, the Spanish press and virtually everyone that knows him.
Resolute in his beliefs, Aragones lashed out at a radio presenter over the issue calling him a "coward and a liar". He's also had a run-in with the Spanish FA over his decision to pick Liverpool's Alvaro Arbeloa even though he was injured, inviting them to "sack me now."
And don't get us started on his motivational techniques. We'll be here all night…
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
It has to be Fernando Torres. His reputation as a clinical goalscorer has continued at Liverpool where he's already bagged 33 goals in 41 appearances on top of the 91 he scored at Atletico Madrid and the 15 he's scored for the national side.
He's now a national hero and could cement his place in history if he continues that sort of form in taking Spain to the Euro 2008 title this summer.
Sweden
Qualifying
As mentioned earlier, Sweden were in Group F along with Spain and matched them almost game for game and goal for goal. They even managed to beat the Spaniards in the second game of their campaign, although the return visit to Madrid ended in a 3-0 defeat to the home side.
Sweden finished second in the group, just two points behind Spain, and did a good job of suppressing most of their opponents with the possible exception of Northern Ireland who beat them 2-1 in Belfast and drew 1-1 in Solna. Top scorer for the Swedes was Marcus Allback with 6 goals in total.
Current form
Indifferent, to say the least. Since the start of the year, Sweden have lost to the United States, Brazil and Ukraine but beaten Slovenia and Costa Rica. There was also a 0-0 draw with Turkey to consider, but the main concern for Sweden will be their rapidly deteriorating ability to score. In those six games played in 2008, they've found the net just twice. Hardly European Champion material…
Players you might have heard of
A nice selection to put in front of all you Premier League fans. In goal, there's Man City's Andreas Isaksson, in defence we give you Aston Villa's bearded wonder Olof Mellberg and in midfield there's the double threat of Birmingham's Sebastian Larsson and West Ham's Freddie Ljungberg. Last but not least, there's the player that lit up many a Celtic supporter's day - the one, the only Henrik 'I'm Not 37 yet, you know' Larsson'.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Sweden 0 Brazil 1
May 26: Sweden 1 Slovenia 0
June 1: Sweden 0 Ukraine 1
An eventful year
Sweden's path to Euro 2008 has not been what you'd call boring in any way, shape or form. Aside from the undoubted joy at beating Spain in one of their early qualifiers, there was the slight distraction of Christian Wilhelmsson, Olof Mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic being sent home after a prolonged night out on the town. Ibrahimovic subsequently refused to play for the national team in their next three games out of protest for what he deemed an unjust punishment.
There was also the curious saga of Sweden's game against Denmark last June when a Danish supporter ran onto the pitch and punched the referee. UEFA stepped in and awarded the Swedes a 3-0 victory, even though the match had ended 3-3. Just as well for Sweden as they were 3-0 up at one point, prior to a Danish fight back later in the game.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the man on whose shoulders every Swedes hopes of winning rest. A star of Serie A for four seasons now, Ibrahimovic has been the driving force in helping Internazionale win the league for the last two seasons although he was out injured for the last couple of months of their 2007/08 campaign. Luckily he returned for the last game to score twice and clinch the championship for them. Now THAT's how to make an impact…
The Group of Life, if you will. Some say this is the easiest group to qualify from out of all those featuring in Euro 2008, but if you ask any of the team coaches involved, they'll all tell you there are no easy groups in this competition. We'll leave it up to you to decide...
Greece
Qualifying
Very comfortable thanks. Highlights include a 4-0 trouncing of Bosnia plus a 1-0 away win at political rivals Turkey which may have made up for the 4-0 mullering they received at the Turks hands earlier in the campaign but probably didn't. Still, they scored more points during qualifying than anyone else and they are the Champions, so ner.
Current form
Not that of a team you'd call 'Reigning European Champions'. A recent 0-0 draw with Armenia preceded by a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Hungary will give the coach something to be decidedly concerned about. Then again, they did beat Portugal and Finland earlier in the year, so let's not label them as abject failures just yet.
Reasons to be cheerful
It's basically the same team that won four years ago. The Greeks are comfortable with each other and with the wily Otto Rehagel working his magic they may be dark horses for the group - maybe even the tournament.
Reasons to be grumpy
It's basically the same team that won four years ago. Antonis Nicopolidis (left) gets greyer by the day and not in the George Clooney way. Hero of Lisbon Angelos Charisteas plays for a team that were relegated last season and midfielder Giorgos Karagounis reckons their main weakness is that they don't create enough goalscoring chances. Veteran manager Otto Rehagel may have run out of ideas.
Recent friendlies
May 19: Greece 2 Cyprus 0
May 24: Hungary 3 Greece 2
June 1: Armenia 0 Greece 0
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Fanis Gekas is a goal machine in the Bundesliga (he was top scorer last season with 20 to his name) and will be mad keen to hurl himself in the general direction of the ball every time it gets near the six yard box. He may even get a haircut.
Russia
Qualifying
Guus Hiddink's men sneaked into the second qualifying spot of Group E by grabbing the single point they needed to force out England and Israel. Drawing 0-0 in both matches against group winners Croatia, Russia's main problem was scoring goals. They netted fewer than the other teams in the top four - just 18 - so it was just as well their defence only conceded seven at the same time.
Current Form
In a word, very good. Though they slipped up away to Romania at the end of March, losing 3-0 in Bucharest, they've since put together a run of three successive wins against Kazakhstan, Serbia and Lithuania. OK, not the most prolific of opponents, but it's better than nothing.
A man of some experience (Part 2)
Just like our old friend Leo Beenhakker of Poland, Russia's Guus Hiddink (right) is a man who's travelled the world seeking new challenges in football management wherever he can find one. So what's the full itinerary for this vastly experienced coach? Let's see...
1982-1984 De Graafschap; 1984-1990 PSV Eindhoven (originally as assistant coach); 1990-1991 Fenerbahçe; 1991-1994 Valencia; 1994-1998 Netherlands; 1998-1999 Real Madrid; 1999-2000 Real Betis; 2000-2002 South Korea; 2002-2006 PSV Eindhoven; 2005-2006 Australia; 2006- Russia.
Recent friendlies
May 23: Russia 6 Kazakhstan 0
May 28: Russia 2 Serbia 1
June 4: Lithuania 1 Russia 4
High expectation
As many people will no longer be aware, Russia have failed to progress beyond the group stage of any major competition since the break up of the former Soviet Union. So what makes them think it can be done this time? Well for a start there's coach Guus Hiddink, a man who's already helped Australia and South Korea get to the knockout stages of the World Cup in 2002 and 2006 respectively.
Then there's the confidence-building win over England during the qualifiers, the fact that the players know each other so well from playing at the many clubs based in Moscow, plus the ability to use pace to great effect to get one over their opponents during a match. Plenty to be going on with there, then...
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Dmitri Sychev. The Lokomotiv Moscow striker is known at home as the 'Russian Michael Owen' and not, presumably, because he's injured for 11 months of the year.
His nickname actually derives from the fact that he's quick, has a clinical finish and is very agile, and these qualities have seen him maintain a commendable strike rate wherever he plays. With the national side, he's scored 15 times in 44 appearances and with his current club he's netted 39 in 101 appearances. Just the sort of talent Russia need if they're to secure that elusive second round berth.
Spain
Qualifying
In qualifying, Spain were excellent. Eventually. After an initial 4-0 drubbing of Liechtenstein at home, Spain travelled to Belfast and lost 3-2 to Lawrie Sanchez's men and followed that with a 2-0 away defeat to Sweden.
So far, so bad, but the Spanish team took a good long look at itself and went about the remainder of their campaign with an altogether more co-ordinated approach, winning eight of their last nine games. They finished top of Group F and have gone on to win their four friendlies in the ensuing period. Beat that…
Current form
As just mentioned, Spain are riding a tidal wave of success at the moment. Once the Euro 2008 qualifiers were out of the way, they beat France, Italy and the United States 1-0 and beat Peru 2-1 - all at home. In fact the last defeat the Spanish have experienced was on November 15th 2006 when Romania beat them 1-0 in Cadiz.
Maybe this really is Spain's year to win the Euros, after all?
Recent friendlies
March 26: Spain 1 Italy 0
May 31: Spain 2 Peru 1
June 4: Spain 1 USA 0
Players you might have heard of
Let's put it this way: if you support Liverpool, you'll know the Spanish squad. From Pepe Reina in goal to Alvaro Albeloa in defence, through to Xabi Alonso in midfield, all the way up to Fernando Torres in attack, there's much to be familiar with.
But hey - if you're British and don't support Liverpool, don't worry - you're catered for too! There's also Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas in midfield…
A bit of a character
Coach Luis Aragones is what they used to call 'a bit of a card'. Wherever he goes, controversy follows. First and foremost is his reluctance to pick Raul for the Spain squad at Euro 2008, a decision which has confused and frustrated Fernando Hierro, Bernd Schuster, most of Raul's team mates at Real Madrid, the Spanish press and virtually everyone that knows him.
Resolute in his beliefs, Aragones lashed out at a radio presenter over the issue calling him a "coward and a liar". He's also had a run-in with the Spanish FA over his decision to pick Liverpool's Alvaro Arbeloa even though he was injured, inviting them to "sack me now."
And don't get us started on his motivational techniques. We'll be here all night…
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
It has to be Fernando Torres. His reputation as a clinical goalscorer has continued at Liverpool where he's already bagged 33 goals in 41 appearances on top of the 91 he scored at Atletico Madrid and the 15 he's scored for the national side.
He's now a national hero and could cement his place in history if he continues that sort of form in taking Spain to the Euro 2008 title this summer.
Sweden
Qualifying
As mentioned earlier, Sweden were in Group F along with Spain and matched them almost game for game and goal for goal. They even managed to beat the Spaniards in the second game of their campaign, although the return visit to Madrid ended in a 3-0 defeat to the home side.
Sweden finished second in the group, just two points behind Spain, and did a good job of suppressing most of their opponents with the possible exception of Northern Ireland who beat them 2-1 in Belfast and drew 1-1 in Solna. Top scorer for the Swedes was Marcus Allback with 6 goals in total.
Current form
Indifferent, to say the least. Since the start of the year, Sweden have lost to the United States, Brazil and Ukraine but beaten Slovenia and Costa Rica. There was also a 0-0 draw with Turkey to consider, but the main concern for Sweden will be their rapidly deteriorating ability to score. In those six games played in 2008, they've found the net just twice. Hardly European Champion material…
Players you might have heard of
A nice selection to put in front of all you Premier League fans. In goal, there's Man City's Andreas Isaksson, in defence we give you Aston Villa's bearded wonder Olof Mellberg and in midfield there's the double threat of Birmingham's Sebastian Larsson and West Ham's Freddie Ljungberg. Last but not least, there's the player that lit up many a Celtic supporter's day - the one, the only Henrik 'I'm Not 37 yet, you know' Larsson'.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Sweden 0 Brazil 1
May 26: Sweden 1 Slovenia 0
June 1: Sweden 0 Ukraine 1
An eventful year
Sweden's path to Euro 2008 has not been what you'd call boring in any way, shape or form. Aside from the undoubted joy at beating Spain in one of their early qualifiers, there was the slight distraction of Christian Wilhelmsson, Olof Mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic being sent home after a prolonged night out on the town. Ibrahimovic subsequently refused to play for the national team in their next three games out of protest for what he deemed an unjust punishment.
There was also the curious saga of Sweden's game against Denmark last June when a Danish supporter ran onto the pitch and punched the referee. UEFA stepped in and awarded the Swedes a 3-0 victory, even though the match had ended 3-3. Just as well for Sweden as they were 3-0 up at one point, prior to a Danish fight back later in the game.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the man on whose shoulders every Swedes hopes of winning rest. A star of Serie A for four seasons now, Ibrahimovic has been the driving force in helping Internazionale win the league for the last two seasons although he was out injured for the last couple of months of their 2007/08 campaign. Luckily he returned for the last game to score twice and clinch the championship for them. Now THAT's how to make an impact…
Saturday, 7 June 2008
The Box Factory
At last Euro 2008 is underway. What's more, it has started with boxes. That’s right, boxes with balloons in them carried by "volunteers" wearing inflated shell suits. I am of course referring to the official Opening Ceremony in Basel.
Opening ceremonies are truly bizarre affairs. What sort of society do we live in where we feel this urge to spend vast sums of money parading around in daft costumes (although I rather liked the milkmaids) and holding aloft wooden cows before a football match?
The organisers will no doubt say, in some carefully prepared statement, that they exist to promote positive values of patriotism, national identity and international brotherhood. The exact opposite to political rivalry, ethnic hatred and desire for restitution, which is surely what international competition is really about. For "A place to make friends" read "A chance to stick it to the Krauts or the Frogs or the Island Apes assuming any of them could be arsed to turn up."
However, as Nigel (manager of the B Sharps) once said "That'll never fit on a marquee, love" so we are compelled to endure particularly florid examples of why performance art should be banned and its practitioners incarcerated along with saccharin messages of phony comradeship before open hostility begins.
Join us then as Some People Are On The Pitch looks back on some of the more cringe-worthy international tournament’s opening ceremonies.
Germany 2006 (World Cup)
When you think of Germany you think of lederhosen, unless you're me and you think of Gunter Netzer and Kraftwerk. So what better way to reinforce a cultural stereo type than with an expression of Bavarian cultural imperialism in leather. You can just imagine the meeting when they decided that. Avant-garde Berliners pleading with the First Munchen Sausage Munchers to do the decent thing and spare the watching world their pot bellies and short fat hairy legs to no avail.
Proceedings are enhanced somewhat by the presence of large skirted dancers descending into the stadium as the "traditionally dressed German performers" looked upwards in the hope that their stiffies don't show up on the telly.
Euro 2004 (Portugal)
It's at times like this when nations, latterly identified with post-war leisure activities such as sunbathing, swinging and child abduction get the chance to reassert their imperialistic credentials through the means of cardboard sailing ships. Hence Portugal’s celebration of their (ahem) "proud history of exploration". Replaying clips of John Rhys-Davies as Vasco Rodrigues in Shogun may have been cheaper but what do I know? Anyway, the closing ceremony of national humiliation was much more entertaining.
Euro 96 (England)
What finer way to capture the national spirit of modernity and multi-culturalism than with white girls in pointed hats prancing around to "merrie olde England" folk music? If harkening back to a bygone age that never happened wasn’t bad enough, then imagine the dismay of the Wembley crowd when a long-haired decidedly English looking St. George appeared to fight an unconvincing and reluctant looking dragon. The ceremony set ethnic relations back ten years and represents the final gout-ridden heave of established fucked up Tory notions of Englishness. Say what you like about New Labour, but no post-97 sports minister would have stood for that bollocks.
Argentina 78 (World Cup)
This is more like it. Start with the ballons and go from there. Marching bands, high school girls spelling out the words 'Argentina '78', 'Mundial FIFA' and 'Trade Unions will be crushed' with the kind of precision only possible when your family are facing permanent internment if you fail. They even managed to chuck in some doves of peace. President Redondo watches on making a note of any Argentine national in the crowd not applauding enthusiastically. You can witness the full horror online but be warned, it goes on for half an hour.
You can always rely on a dictatorship to put on a good display. That’s at least one good reason why North Korea should be awarded a World Cup. Their ceremony would probably go on for days. Many people would die of exhaustion in the audience alone but it would be a small price to pay to watch hard core mass dancing.
Share your painful opening ceremony moments with us here by leaving a comment.
Opening ceremonies are truly bizarre affairs. What sort of society do we live in where we feel this urge to spend vast sums of money parading around in daft costumes (although I rather liked the milkmaids) and holding aloft wooden cows before a football match?
The organisers will no doubt say, in some carefully prepared statement, that they exist to promote positive values of patriotism, national identity and international brotherhood. The exact opposite to political rivalry, ethnic hatred and desire for restitution, which is surely what international competition is really about. For "A place to make friends" read "A chance to stick it to the Krauts or the Frogs or the Island Apes assuming any of them could be arsed to turn up."
However, as Nigel (manager of the B Sharps) once said "That'll never fit on a marquee, love" so we are compelled to endure particularly florid examples of why performance art should be banned and its practitioners incarcerated along with saccharin messages of phony comradeship before open hostility begins.
Join us then as Some People Are On The Pitch looks back on some of the more cringe-worthy international tournament’s opening ceremonies.
Germany 2006 (World Cup)
When you think of Germany you think of lederhosen, unless you're me and you think of Gunter Netzer and Kraftwerk. So what better way to reinforce a cultural stereo type than with an expression of Bavarian cultural imperialism in leather. You can just imagine the meeting when they decided that. Avant-garde Berliners pleading with the First Munchen Sausage Munchers to do the decent thing and spare the watching world their pot bellies and short fat hairy legs to no avail.
Proceedings are enhanced somewhat by the presence of large skirted dancers descending into the stadium as the "traditionally dressed German performers" looked upwards in the hope that their stiffies don't show up on the telly.
Euro 2004 (Portugal)
It's at times like this when nations, latterly identified with post-war leisure activities such as sunbathing, swinging and child abduction get the chance to reassert their imperialistic credentials through the means of cardboard sailing ships. Hence Portugal’s celebration of their (ahem) "proud history of exploration". Replaying clips of John Rhys-Davies as Vasco Rodrigues in Shogun may have been cheaper but what do I know? Anyway, the closing ceremony of national humiliation was much more entertaining.
Euro 96 (England)
What finer way to capture the national spirit of modernity and multi-culturalism than with white girls in pointed hats prancing around to "merrie olde England" folk music? If harkening back to a bygone age that never happened wasn’t bad enough, then imagine the dismay of the Wembley crowd when a long-haired decidedly English looking St. George appeared to fight an unconvincing and reluctant looking dragon. The ceremony set ethnic relations back ten years and represents the final gout-ridden heave of established fucked up Tory notions of Englishness. Say what you like about New Labour, but no post-97 sports minister would have stood for that bollocks.
Argentina 78 (World Cup)
This is more like it. Start with the ballons and go from there. Marching bands, high school girls spelling out the words 'Argentina '78', 'Mundial FIFA' and 'Trade Unions will be crushed' with the kind of precision only possible when your family are facing permanent internment if you fail. They even managed to chuck in some doves of peace. President Redondo watches on making a note of any Argentine national in the crowd not applauding enthusiastically. You can witness the full horror online but be warned, it goes on for half an hour.
You can always rely on a dictatorship to put on a good display. That’s at least one good reason why North Korea should be awarded a World Cup. Their ceremony would probably go on for days. Many people would die of exhaustion in the audience alone but it would be a small price to pay to watch hard core mass dancing.
Share your painful opening ceremony moments with us here by leaving a comment.
Euro 2008 - Guide to Group C
Group C
The Official Group of Death for Euro 2008. There must have been dozens of Groups of Death down the years… I wonder how this one ranks against the others? (Mental note to self: look into this for a future article on SPAOTP…)
France
Qualifying
France were pitted up against Italy in Group B of the qualifiers and lived to tell the tale. Though Italy won the group overall, France beat the Italians 3-1 before a 0-0 draw ensued in the return match, plus they finished as top scorers in the group, largely down to the goals of Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka.
Players you might have heard of
Second only to the Dutch, France ooze household names of some quality throughout their ranks, many of which will be all too familiar to the British. There's Chelsea's triumvirate of Makelele, Malouda and Anelka, former Arsenal stars Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, Man United defender Patrice Evra and Portsmouth's Lassana Diarra. If you're still not satisfied with that, the names Thuram, Ribery and Benzema should leave you in no doubt as to the strength of the squad.
Players you won't be seeing
One Zinedine Zidane, for a kick off. The mercurial captain of the side and Headbutter Supreme has now retired leaving Patrick Vieira to run the ship. Without his skill and all-seeing vision, some say France lack that bit of sparkle they once had and those self-same people are predicting a decidedly normal-looking team will be there for all to see this summer. One way or another, he'll be much missed - except possibly by Marco Materazzi, but that's understandable.
Recent friendlies
May 27: France 2 Ecudaor 0
May 31: France 0 Paraguay 0
June 3: France 1 Colombia 0
Stingy…
Whether France reproduce their halcyon days of the late 90's remains to be seen, but one thing remains certain - it won't be easy to score against them. Since the summer of 2004, they've conceded on average 0.48 goals per game.
Further proof of their resilient defence is that they've only conceded one goal in their last five matches (in their 1-0 defeat to Spain in February) and the only two teams to score more than one goal against them since the middle of March 2006 are Morocco and Ukraine, the latter being France's last Euro 2008 qualifier.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Franck Ribery. He's just had the season of his life with Bayern Munich and is arguably the brightest star of all those in the French team. As chief playmaker, you can expect him to run at opposition defences with great gusto whenever he isn't inviting others to do the same. Expect this tournament to be his making on the world stage.
Italy
Qualifying
After a shaky start that saw them lose to France in Group B, they strode on confidently with all the hallmarks of a team that called themselves world champions. Unlike France, Italy also managed to beat the Scots in both matches which, as far as we’re concerned, is good enough to qualify for any tournament these days on its own.
Current Form
On the whole, pretty good. They've not played many friendlies since the end of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, but they can include victories over Belgium and Portugal among them. The only fly in the ointment was a 1-0 defeat to Spain at the end of March, but if it's any consolation, that's their only defeat in nine games.
That coach looks familiar…
When Marcello Lippi having steered Italy to their first world championship for 24 years, the man selected to take over was former Milan midfielder Roberto Donadoni. A surprise choice for some as he was still considered to be going through his managerial apprenticeship with Livorno, but having got them up to sixth place in Serie A, he was deemed the ideal choice by the Italian FA.
For all that, we still remember him as the nippy winger that won titles galore with Milan over a 10 year period and helped Italy to third and second place respectively at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. With a career like that behind him, he must stand at least half a chance of achieving something as a manager. Watch this space...
Recent friendlies
February 6: Italy 3 Portugal 1
March 26: Spain 1 Italy 0
May 30: Italy 3 Belgium 1
Playing style
When possible, the Italians are encouraged to attack in big numbers to flood their opponents half of the field. While all that's going on, one midfielder usually stays back to mop up any counter-attacks, but this mob mentality to looking for goals has proven highly effective, largely due the quality of players that can make it happen in all parts of the pitch.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Luca Toni, Bayern Munich's free-scoring attacker who continues to net goals in Germany just as he did at Palermo and Fiorentina prior to his 2007 transfer. A man for the big occasion, he scored twice in Italy's 3-0 quarter-final victory over Ukraine and hit the crossbar with a header in the Final against France. Expect more fireworks again - and then some.
Netherlands
Qualifying
The Dutch didn't have it all their own way during qualifying. Playing in Group G, they went about the business of picking up points in a modest, business-like manner, but so did a resurgent Romania and an awkward Bulgarian team too.
The end result was that the Dutch qualified as runners-up but the fans weren't entirely happy with the manner of their doing so. The Netherlands laboured to dual 1-0 victories over Luxembourg, were unable to beat group winners Romania and ended the campaign losing 2-1 away to Belarus. Had they scored one point fewer, we'd be talking about Bulgaria now, not the Dutch.
Tactical switch
Marco van Basten had to swallow something hard and jagged not so long ago. Having settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation that initially brought the Dutch team many a decent result, things soon started to go wrong. Going in at half time 3-1 down against the Austrians was a key moment when Van Basten knew his tactical astuteness didn't have the depth it needed, but he sought advice from some of his own players and the boat was soon steadied again.
The likes of van Der Sar, van Nistelrooy and Seedorf were all quick to point out that perhaps the team might be better off playing a traditional 4-3-3 system instead, and they were right. They've not lost since and the players seem a lot happier knowing they're playing to a more appropriate system.
Recent friendlies
May 24: Netherlands 3 Ukraine 0
May 29: Netherlands 1 Denmark 1
June 1: Netherlands 2 Wales 0
Players you might have heard of
Er, how long have you got? There's almost as many players affiliated with British clubs just now as there are Dutch ones in the current squad. In goal, there's Van Der Sar of Man United and in defence we have Aston Villa's Wilfred Bouma, Wigan's Mario Melchiot and Blackburn's Andre Ooijer. Up front, take your pick from Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic) and that's without the likes of van Bronckhorst and van Nistelrooy who used to play in the Premier League.
Players you won't be seeing
Mark van Bommel. He's had an on-off involvement with the national team over the last few years thanks to van Basten's critical view of the midfielder. The coach has even gone out of his way to criticise van Bommel's poor performances at times, all of which led him to announce he no longer wanted to be picked while van Basten was in charge of the side.
Oh, and there's also Edgar Davids. The Ajax star broke his leg in a pre-season friendly which kept him out of the game for three months. A lack of match fitness reduced his likelihood of being chosen by the coach for the national team with other younger, fitter players available, all of which means we may have seen the last of the begoggled one on the international stage.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Rafael van Der Vaart. Despite suffering numerous niggling injuries, he's come through this season at Hamburg with 21 goals from 44 appearances (including those for the Netherlands) so this could finally be his chance to shine in the spotlight - as long as he stays fit.
Romania
Qualifying
In the end, Romania qualified at a canter in Group G along with the Netherlands and Bulgaria (as we've just heard). They were a lot more convincing than the Dutch, losing just one of their twelve games - to Bulgaria, strangely - and they scored an admirable 26 goals along the way too. The Dutch could only manage 15 and the Bulgarians only did slightly better with 18.
Top scorer for the Romanians was the former Chelsea attacker Adrian Mutu with six goals. Stuttgart's Ciprian Marica was one behind on five.
Current form
Apart from a 1-0 slip-up away to Israel back in February, they've looked quite accomplished. A 3-0 win over Russia and a 4-0 win over Montenegro have given them the perfect boost going into their first Euro 2008 game against France on Monday.
Players you might have heard of
Apart from Adrian Mutu, there's just the one for all British football fans to spot. It's Marius Niculae of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Don't laugh - he's scored 13 goals in his 30 appearances for Romania and scores on average once every three games for the Scottish club too.
Recent friendlies
February 6: Israel 1 Romania 0
March 26: Romania 3 Russia 0
May 31: Romania 4 Montenegro 0
Not just making up the numbers
As mentioned earlier, Romania are quite happy to score goals for fun and love to play attacking football, but they can also defend as well. Fans of the Netherlands will tell you their team found it frustrating getting through the Romanian back line, failing to score in the two games they played against them.
Though Romania have been absent from the last three major tournaments, it's very likely they'll make up for that at Euro 2008 despite their label of 'outsiders'. Expect the other teams in their group to treat them with great respect on match days accordingly.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Adrian Mutu. After leaving Chelsea under a cloud due to that cocaine issue we don't talk about anymore, his career has been given a much needed shot in the arm at Fiorentina. Forming a formidable partnership with Luca Toni, he's reminded everyone just how versatile he is by not just scoring goals regularly but providing assists for others too.
Oh and a quick factoid for all of you out there: Romania have only lost once in games when Adrian Mutu has scored. They'll be hoping he's got his shooting boots on during Euro 2008, we're sure.
The Official Group of Death for Euro 2008. There must have been dozens of Groups of Death down the years… I wonder how this one ranks against the others? (Mental note to self: look into this for a future article on SPAOTP…)
France
Qualifying
France were pitted up against Italy in Group B of the qualifiers and lived to tell the tale. Though Italy won the group overall, France beat the Italians 3-1 before a 0-0 draw ensued in the return match, plus they finished as top scorers in the group, largely down to the goals of Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka.
Players you might have heard of
Second only to the Dutch, France ooze household names of some quality throughout their ranks, many of which will be all too familiar to the British. There's Chelsea's triumvirate of Makelele, Malouda and Anelka, former Arsenal stars Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, Man United defender Patrice Evra and Portsmouth's Lassana Diarra. If you're still not satisfied with that, the names Thuram, Ribery and Benzema should leave you in no doubt as to the strength of the squad.
Players you won't be seeing
One Zinedine Zidane, for a kick off. The mercurial captain of the side and Headbutter Supreme has now retired leaving Patrick Vieira to run the ship. Without his skill and all-seeing vision, some say France lack that bit of sparkle they once had and those self-same people are predicting a decidedly normal-looking team will be there for all to see this summer. One way or another, he'll be much missed - except possibly by Marco Materazzi, but that's understandable.
Recent friendlies
May 27: France 2 Ecudaor 0
May 31: France 0 Paraguay 0
June 3: France 1 Colombia 0
Stingy…
Whether France reproduce their halcyon days of the late 90's remains to be seen, but one thing remains certain - it won't be easy to score against them. Since the summer of 2004, they've conceded on average 0.48 goals per game.
Further proof of their resilient defence is that they've only conceded one goal in their last five matches (in their 1-0 defeat to Spain in February) and the only two teams to score more than one goal against them since the middle of March 2006 are Morocco and Ukraine, the latter being France's last Euro 2008 qualifier.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Franck Ribery. He's just had the season of his life with Bayern Munich and is arguably the brightest star of all those in the French team. As chief playmaker, you can expect him to run at opposition defences with great gusto whenever he isn't inviting others to do the same. Expect this tournament to be his making on the world stage.
Italy
Qualifying
After a shaky start that saw them lose to France in Group B, they strode on confidently with all the hallmarks of a team that called themselves world champions. Unlike France, Italy also managed to beat the Scots in both matches which, as far as we’re concerned, is good enough to qualify for any tournament these days on its own.
Current Form
On the whole, pretty good. They've not played many friendlies since the end of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, but they can include victories over Belgium and Portugal among them. The only fly in the ointment was a 1-0 defeat to Spain at the end of March, but if it's any consolation, that's their only defeat in nine games.
That coach looks familiar…
When Marcello Lippi having steered Italy to their first world championship for 24 years, the man selected to take over was former Milan midfielder Roberto Donadoni. A surprise choice for some as he was still considered to be going through his managerial apprenticeship with Livorno, but having got them up to sixth place in Serie A, he was deemed the ideal choice by the Italian FA.
For all that, we still remember him as the nippy winger that won titles galore with Milan over a 10 year period and helped Italy to third and second place respectively at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. With a career like that behind him, he must stand at least half a chance of achieving something as a manager. Watch this space...
Recent friendlies
February 6: Italy 3 Portugal 1
March 26: Spain 1 Italy 0
May 30: Italy 3 Belgium 1
Playing style
When possible, the Italians are encouraged to attack in big numbers to flood their opponents half of the field. While all that's going on, one midfielder usually stays back to mop up any counter-attacks, but this mob mentality to looking for goals has proven highly effective, largely due the quality of players that can make it happen in all parts of the pitch.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Luca Toni, Bayern Munich's free-scoring attacker who continues to net goals in Germany just as he did at Palermo and Fiorentina prior to his 2007 transfer. A man for the big occasion, he scored twice in Italy's 3-0 quarter-final victory over Ukraine and hit the crossbar with a header in the Final against France. Expect more fireworks again - and then some.
Netherlands
Qualifying
The Dutch didn't have it all their own way during qualifying. Playing in Group G, they went about the business of picking up points in a modest, business-like manner, but so did a resurgent Romania and an awkward Bulgarian team too.
The end result was that the Dutch qualified as runners-up but the fans weren't entirely happy with the manner of their doing so. The Netherlands laboured to dual 1-0 victories over Luxembourg, were unable to beat group winners Romania and ended the campaign losing 2-1 away to Belarus. Had they scored one point fewer, we'd be talking about Bulgaria now, not the Dutch.
Tactical switch
Marco van Basten had to swallow something hard and jagged not so long ago. Having settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation that initially brought the Dutch team many a decent result, things soon started to go wrong. Going in at half time 3-1 down against the Austrians was a key moment when Van Basten knew his tactical astuteness didn't have the depth it needed, but he sought advice from some of his own players and the boat was soon steadied again.
The likes of van Der Sar, van Nistelrooy and Seedorf were all quick to point out that perhaps the team might be better off playing a traditional 4-3-3 system instead, and they were right. They've not lost since and the players seem a lot happier knowing they're playing to a more appropriate system.
Recent friendlies
May 24: Netherlands 3 Ukraine 0
May 29: Netherlands 1 Denmark 1
June 1: Netherlands 2 Wales 0
Players you might have heard of
Er, how long have you got? There's almost as many players affiliated with British clubs just now as there are Dutch ones in the current squad. In goal, there's Van Der Sar of Man United and in defence we have Aston Villa's Wilfred Bouma, Wigan's Mario Melchiot and Blackburn's Andre Ooijer. Up front, take your pick from Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic) and that's without the likes of van Bronckhorst and van Nistelrooy who used to play in the Premier League.
Players you won't be seeing
Mark van Bommel. He's had an on-off involvement with the national team over the last few years thanks to van Basten's critical view of the midfielder. The coach has even gone out of his way to criticise van Bommel's poor performances at times, all of which led him to announce he no longer wanted to be picked while van Basten was in charge of the side.
Oh, and there's also Edgar Davids. The Ajax star broke his leg in a pre-season friendly which kept him out of the game for three months. A lack of match fitness reduced his likelihood of being chosen by the coach for the national team with other younger, fitter players available, all of which means we may have seen the last of the begoggled one on the international stage.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Rafael van Der Vaart. Despite suffering numerous niggling injuries, he's come through this season at Hamburg with 21 goals from 44 appearances (including those for the Netherlands) so this could finally be his chance to shine in the spotlight - as long as he stays fit.
Romania
Qualifying
In the end, Romania qualified at a canter in Group G along with the Netherlands and Bulgaria (as we've just heard). They were a lot more convincing than the Dutch, losing just one of their twelve games - to Bulgaria, strangely - and they scored an admirable 26 goals along the way too. The Dutch could only manage 15 and the Bulgarians only did slightly better with 18.
Top scorer for the Romanians was the former Chelsea attacker Adrian Mutu with six goals. Stuttgart's Ciprian Marica was one behind on five.
Current form
Apart from a 1-0 slip-up away to Israel back in February, they've looked quite accomplished. A 3-0 win over Russia and a 4-0 win over Montenegro have given them the perfect boost going into their first Euro 2008 game against France on Monday.
Players you might have heard of
Apart from Adrian Mutu, there's just the one for all British football fans to spot. It's Marius Niculae of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Don't laugh - he's scored 13 goals in his 30 appearances for Romania and scores on average once every three games for the Scottish club too.
Recent friendlies
February 6: Israel 1 Romania 0
March 26: Romania 3 Russia 0
May 31: Romania 4 Montenegro 0
Not just making up the numbers
As mentioned earlier, Romania are quite happy to score goals for fun and love to play attacking football, but they can also defend as well. Fans of the Netherlands will tell you their team found it frustrating getting through the Romanian back line, failing to score in the two games they played against them.
Though Romania have been absent from the last three major tournaments, it's very likely they'll make up for that at Euro 2008 despite their label of 'outsiders'. Expect the other teams in their group to treat them with great respect on match days accordingly.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Adrian Mutu. After leaving Chelsea under a cloud due to that cocaine issue we don't talk about anymore, his career has been given a much needed shot in the arm at Fiorentina. Forming a formidable partnership with Luca Toni, he's reminded everyone just how versatile he is by not just scoring goals regularly but providing assists for others too.
Oh and a quick factoid for all of you out there: Romania have only lost once in games when Adrian Mutu has scored. They'll be hoping he's got his shooting boots on during Euro 2008, we're sure.
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Euro 2008: Guide to Group B
Group B
If Group C is the group of football death then B is the group of actual death. If proceedings are handled badly we could be looking at a new European War stretching from the Ruhr Valley to the Balkans via the Baltic Sea. Thank God England didn't finish top of their qualifying group. Imagine being shoved in with that lot?
Austria
Qualifying
No qualifying for the Austrians. They're the co-hosts, you see. It’s a privilege given to only a select few countries, namely those with the biggest, most bulging brown envelopes addressed to Michel Platini, c/o UEFA.
How the mighty have fallen
Once upon a time, Austria were one of the kings of world football. Go back to any year between 1930's and 1950's and you'll have seen them giving almost anyone a decent match. Even in the 70's and 80's they were still getting to the World Cup Finals and when FIFA introduced their World Rankings, they registered a high water mark of 17th in June 1999 (see graph, above).
Nowadays, they're ranked 92nd below such giants of the game as Mozambique, Guatemala and Qatar and last month they reached an all-time low of 101st. The only way is up, as they say...
Players you might have heard of
Between the sticks there's former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger (now playing for Siena in Italy) and in defence we have Middlesbrough's Emanuel Pogatetz.
Players you won't be seeing
Wigan's Paul Scharner. Having made twelve appearances for the Austrian team, he had a major falling out with current coach Josef Hickersberger and called his country's F.A. setup a shambles. Despite attempts to rebuild bridges with Hickersberger, he remained absent from the Austria squad for Euro 2008 promptung Scharner to call time on his international career.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Austria 3 Netherlands 4
May 27: Austria 1 Nigeria 1
May 30: Austria 5 Malta 1
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Martin Stranzl. For a team that's going to have to defend like fury against the might of Germany and Croatia, their 6 ft 4 inch centre back is going to have to be on his mettle in no uncertain terms. He can also score the occasional goal, too, as he's proved at 1860 Munich, Stuttgart, Spartak Moscow (his current club) and in the international side.
Croatia
Qualifying
Us English know all too well how the Croatians did in qualifying. They topped the group by five clear points ahead of Russia having lost only one of their twelve games. Key to their success was Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva who bagged ten goals, but after breaking his leg in the Premier League, he'll be noticeably absent over the next few weeks.
Current Form
Despite an emphatic qualifying round, they're finding life without a prolific forward not so easy. In the four friendlies since the 3-2 defeat of England that clinched their place at the Euro's, they've won just one and scored only three. Worrying…
Players you might have heard of
Aside from coach Slaven Bilic, who fans of West Ham and Everton will remember fondly, the squad boasts Manchester City's Vedran Corluka in defence and Portsmouth's Niko Kranjcar in midfield.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Scotland 1 Croatia 1
May 24: Croatia 1 Moldova 0
May 31: Hungary 1 Croatia 1
A small price to pay
Clubs and countries were on high alert recently when it became clear that Slaven Bilic's contract with the Croatian FA was about to run out when Euro 2008 was over. Given the fact that he was earning a paltry £35,000 a year, it's fair to say that he could easily earn a higher wage elsewhere but Bilic made a big commitment to the Croatian team by agreeing to renew his contract unconditionally until 2010.
Curiously he left it to his employers to award him a salary they thought was appropriate given his recent successes, but did make one stipulation - that his assistants be given a considerable wage. Robert Prosinecki is one of those that fits into that category and to date he hasn't earned a single penny for helping out his former Croatia team-mate
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
In the absence of Eduardo, the man being asked to step into his boots will be Luka Modric. The Dinamo Zagreb midfielder has the critics cooing over him something rotten. He's got a powerful right foot, can distribute the ball better than most and has been likened to none other than Johann Cruyff. "He's hard even to foul" said Bilic.
Germany
Qualifying
Some people have made big news of the fact that Germany only finished second in Group D behind the Czechs, but we think that's poppycock. The fact of the matter is Germany were the first to qualify from the group (maybe even the whole competition, if we remember rightly) and did so before Euro 2000 had even finished. More or less.
Oh yes - and they beat San Marino 13-0 as well.
Kit check
Germany do love their kits and you only have to go back to the 1980's to see a wide range of styles and designs to suit every taste. For Euro 2008, however, they've gone for a very bold black stripe across that famous white shirt. We're sure they've used the black stripe thing before now - perhaps back in the days before the Second World War - but we can find no evidence to prove it. Perhaps we're thinking of the German athletics team or something.
Anyway, if you think the white-with-a-black-stripe effect is bold, wait til you see the change strip. It features a red shirt with a broad black stripe running down the middle from top to bottom (see above). Apparently we've got Jurgen Klinsmann to blame for the switch from green to red. He figured that teams wearing red were statistically more successful than any other. It certainly worked for England in 1966...
Clear-cut favourites?
Even though everyone and his dog seems to be backing the Germans to win Euro 2008, there seems to be plenty of reasons not to. For a start, the squad contains many young players that lack a decent amount of experience on the international stage.
Of those that do have the experience of playing for their country, many, ironically, haven't been playing much for their clubs of late, and one key example is Jens Lehmann. He's just signed for Stuttgart after a season of only sporadic appearances for Arsenal, and his lack of regular match practice will be shared by other members of the squad like Christoph Metzelder, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski. Whether their undoubted star qualities will shine through anyway remains to be seen, but we won't bet the house on a German tournament win just yet if it's all the same with you...
Recent friendlies
March 26: Switzerland 0 Germany 4
May 27: Germany 2 Belarus 2
May 31: Germany 2 Serbia 1
Players you might have heard of
We've already mentioned Lehmann and Ballack, so that just leaves Thomas Hitzlsperger as a remaining Premier League stalwart to bring to your attention. He's the former Aston Villa midfielder with a blistering left-foot shot which these days helps him bag goals a-plenty at Stuttgart. He may only be used as a replacement for Torsten Frings, but what a good alternative to have, we say.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Michael Ballack. Yeah yeah, you know who he is and all that, but he's arguably the one main talent that the German team is based around, thanks to his goalscoring ability, experience and skill at distributing the ball to all parts of the team. And he takes a mean penalty, too.
Poland
Qualifying
What can we say... the arrival of coach Leo Beenhakker signalled a renewed sense of inner belief for the Poles during qualifying. After losing their first match 3-1 to Finland, they went on to top Group A ahead of Portugal, Serbia and the Finns. A particularly impressive 2-1 win over Portugal to accompany their previous 1-1 says everything you need to know - that Poland are capable of great things this summer. However...
Current form
'Iffy' would be a good way to describe it. Since qualifying for the finals last October, Poland have struggled to maintain the convincing form they'd shown previously. At the start of the year they beat the Czechs 2-0 in Cyprus but then lost 2-0 to the USA at home.
More recently they've scored three goals in their last three games during which they could only draw with Macedonia and scrape past Albania with a 1-0 win. Do we here the sound of wheels coming off?
Players you might have heard of
Several to choose from here. For a start, take your pick from all three goalkeepers well known to British fans - Arsenal's Lukasz Fabianski, Man United's Tomasz Kuszczak and Celtic's Artur Boruc.
Up front, Celtic fans will also recognise Maciej Zurawski - now at Larisa in Greece - plus there's Southampton striker Marek Saganowski.
Recent friendlies
May 26: Macedonia 1 Poland 1
May 27: Albania 0 Poland 1
June 1: Poland 1 Denmark 1
A man of some experience
What about that coach, eh? Leo Beenhakker - the man with a CV longer than Ruud van Nistelrooy's face. He's been everywhere and done everything during his career, so let's take a roll call of all the places where 'Don Leo' has brought his unique brand of leadership...
1972-1975 SC Cambuur; 1975-1976 Go Ahead Eagles; 1979-1981 Ajax; 1981-1984 Real Zaragoza; 1985 FC Volendam; 1985-1986 Netherlands; 1986-1989 Real Madrid; 1989-1991 Ajax; 1990 Netherlands; 1992 Real Madrid; 1992-1993 Grasshoppers Zürich; 1993-1994 Saudi Arabia; 1994-1995 Club América; 1995-1996 İstanbulspor A.Ş.; 1996 Guadalajara; 1996-1997 Vitesse; 1997-2000 Feyenoord; 2000-2003 Ajax; 2003-2004 Club América; 2004-2005 De Graafschap; 2005-2006 Trinidad and Tobago; 2006- Poland.
Marvellous.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Euzebiusz Smolarek. Scorer of nine goals during the qualifiers and a man of some considerable footballing pedigree. He was named after Portuguese legend Eusebio by his father who himself was no mug. Wlodzimierz Smolarek played for the Poland team that finished third at the 1982 World Cup and was the last Pole to score against Portugal before his son replicated the feat in October 2006.
If Group C is the group of football death then B is the group of actual death. If proceedings are handled badly we could be looking at a new European War stretching from the Ruhr Valley to the Balkans via the Baltic Sea. Thank God England didn't finish top of their qualifying group. Imagine being shoved in with that lot?
Austria
Qualifying
No qualifying for the Austrians. They're the co-hosts, you see. It’s a privilege given to only a select few countries, namely those with the biggest, most bulging brown envelopes addressed to Michel Platini, c/o UEFA.
How the mighty have fallen
Once upon a time, Austria were one of the kings of world football. Go back to any year between 1930's and 1950's and you'll have seen them giving almost anyone a decent match. Even in the 70's and 80's they were still getting to the World Cup Finals and when FIFA introduced their World Rankings, they registered a high water mark of 17th in June 1999 (see graph, above).Nowadays, they're ranked 92nd below such giants of the game as Mozambique, Guatemala and Qatar and last month they reached an all-time low of 101st. The only way is up, as they say...
Players you might have heard of
Between the sticks there's former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger (now playing for Siena in Italy) and in defence we have Middlesbrough's Emanuel Pogatetz.
Players you won't be seeing
Wigan's Paul Scharner. Having made twelve appearances for the Austrian team, he had a major falling out with current coach Josef Hickersberger and called his country's F.A. setup a shambles. Despite attempts to rebuild bridges with Hickersberger, he remained absent from the Austria squad for Euro 2008 promptung Scharner to call time on his international career.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Austria 3 Netherlands 4
May 27: Austria 1 Nigeria 1
May 30: Austria 5 Malta 1
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Martin Stranzl. For a team that's going to have to defend like fury against the might of Germany and Croatia, their 6 ft 4 inch centre back is going to have to be on his mettle in no uncertain terms. He can also score the occasional goal, too, as he's proved at 1860 Munich, Stuttgart, Spartak Moscow (his current club) and in the international side.
Croatia
Qualifying
Us English know all too well how the Croatians did in qualifying. They topped the group by five clear points ahead of Russia having lost only one of their twelve games. Key to their success was Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva who bagged ten goals, but after breaking his leg in the Premier League, he'll be noticeably absent over the next few weeks.
Current Form
Despite an emphatic qualifying round, they're finding life without a prolific forward not so easy. In the four friendlies since the 3-2 defeat of England that clinched their place at the Euro's, they've won just one and scored only three. Worrying…
Players you might have heard of
Aside from coach Slaven Bilic, who fans of West Ham and Everton will remember fondly, the squad boasts Manchester City's Vedran Corluka in defence and Portsmouth's Niko Kranjcar in midfield.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Scotland 1 Croatia 1
May 24: Croatia 1 Moldova 0
May 31: Hungary 1 Croatia 1
A small price to pay
Clubs and countries were on high alert recently when it became clear that Slaven Bilic's contract with the Croatian FA was about to run out when Euro 2008 was over. Given the fact that he was earning a paltry £35,000 a year, it's fair to say that he could easily earn a higher wage elsewhere but Bilic made a big commitment to the Croatian team by agreeing to renew his contract unconditionally until 2010.
Curiously he left it to his employers to award him a salary they thought was appropriate given his recent successes, but did make one stipulation - that his assistants be given a considerable wage. Robert Prosinecki is one of those that fits into that category and to date he hasn't earned a single penny for helping out his former Croatia team-mate
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
In the absence of Eduardo, the man being asked to step into his boots will be Luka Modric. The Dinamo Zagreb midfielder has the critics cooing over him something rotten. He's got a powerful right foot, can distribute the ball better than most and has been likened to none other than Johann Cruyff. "He's hard even to foul" said Bilic.
Germany
Qualifying
Some people have made big news of the fact that Germany only finished second in Group D behind the Czechs, but we think that's poppycock. The fact of the matter is Germany were the first to qualify from the group (maybe even the whole competition, if we remember rightly) and did so before Euro 2000 had even finished. More or less.
Oh yes - and they beat San Marino 13-0 as well.
Kit check
Germany do love their kits and you only have to go back to the 1980's to see a wide range of styles and designs to suit every taste. For Euro 2008, however, they've gone for a very bold black stripe across that famous white shirt. We're sure they've used the black stripe thing before now - perhaps back in the days before the Second World War - but we can find no evidence to prove it. Perhaps we're thinking of the German athletics team or something.
Anyway, if you think the white-with-a-black-stripe effect is bold, wait til you see the change strip. It features a red shirt with a broad black stripe running down the middle from top to bottom (see above). Apparently we've got Jurgen Klinsmann to blame for the switch from green to red. He figured that teams wearing red were statistically more successful than any other. It certainly worked for England in 1966...
Clear-cut favourites?
Even though everyone and his dog seems to be backing the Germans to win Euro 2008, there seems to be plenty of reasons not to. For a start, the squad contains many young players that lack a decent amount of experience on the international stage.
Of those that do have the experience of playing for their country, many, ironically, haven't been playing much for their clubs of late, and one key example is Jens Lehmann. He's just signed for Stuttgart after a season of only sporadic appearances for Arsenal, and his lack of regular match practice will be shared by other members of the squad like Christoph Metzelder, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski. Whether their undoubted star qualities will shine through anyway remains to be seen, but we won't bet the house on a German tournament win just yet if it's all the same with you...
Recent friendlies
March 26: Switzerland 0 Germany 4
May 27: Germany 2 Belarus 2
May 31: Germany 2 Serbia 1
Players you might have heard of
We've already mentioned Lehmann and Ballack, so that just leaves Thomas Hitzlsperger as a remaining Premier League stalwart to bring to your attention. He's the former Aston Villa midfielder with a blistering left-foot shot which these days helps him bag goals a-plenty at Stuttgart. He may only be used as a replacement for Torsten Frings, but what a good alternative to have, we say.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Michael Ballack. Yeah yeah, you know who he is and all that, but he's arguably the one main talent that the German team is based around, thanks to his goalscoring ability, experience and skill at distributing the ball to all parts of the team. And he takes a mean penalty, too.
Poland
Qualifying
What can we say... the arrival of coach Leo Beenhakker signalled a renewed sense of inner belief for the Poles during qualifying. After losing their first match 3-1 to Finland, they went on to top Group A ahead of Portugal, Serbia and the Finns. A particularly impressive 2-1 win over Portugal to accompany their previous 1-1 says everything you need to know - that Poland are capable of great things this summer. However...
Current form
'Iffy' would be a good way to describe it. Since qualifying for the finals last October, Poland have struggled to maintain the convincing form they'd shown previously. At the start of the year they beat the Czechs 2-0 in Cyprus but then lost 2-0 to the USA at home.
More recently they've scored three goals in their last three games during which they could only draw with Macedonia and scrape past Albania with a 1-0 win. Do we here the sound of wheels coming off?
Players you might have heard of
Several to choose from here. For a start, take your pick from all three goalkeepers well known to British fans - Arsenal's Lukasz Fabianski, Man United's Tomasz Kuszczak and Celtic's Artur Boruc.
Up front, Celtic fans will also recognise Maciej Zurawski - now at Larisa in Greece - plus there's Southampton striker Marek Saganowski.
Recent friendlies
May 26: Macedonia 1 Poland 1
May 27: Albania 0 Poland 1
June 1: Poland 1 Denmark 1
A man of some experience
What about that coach, eh? Leo Beenhakker - the man with a CV longer than Ruud van Nistelrooy's face. He's been everywhere and done everything during his career, so let's take a roll call of all the places where 'Don Leo' has brought his unique brand of leadership...
1972-1975 SC Cambuur; 1975-1976 Go Ahead Eagles; 1979-1981 Ajax; 1981-1984 Real Zaragoza; 1985 FC Volendam; 1985-1986 Netherlands; 1986-1989 Real Madrid; 1989-1991 Ajax; 1990 Netherlands; 1992 Real Madrid; 1992-1993 Grasshoppers Zürich; 1993-1994 Saudi Arabia; 1994-1995 Club América; 1995-1996 İstanbulspor A.Ş.; 1996 Guadalajara; 1996-1997 Vitesse; 1997-2000 Feyenoord; 2000-2003 Ajax; 2003-2004 Club América; 2004-2005 De Graafschap; 2005-2006 Trinidad and Tobago; 2006- Poland.
Marvellous.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Euzebiusz Smolarek. Scorer of nine goals during the qualifiers and a man of some considerable footballing pedigree. He was named after Portuguese legend Eusebio by his father who himself was no mug. Wlodzimierz Smolarek played for the Poland team that finished third at the 1982 World Cup and was the last Pole to score against Portugal before his son replicated the feat in October 2006.
The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #64
Gastarbeiter
37 Non-German Bundesliga players selected for their respective national squads for Euro 2008
1. Jaromir Blazek (Czech Republic & Nürnberg)
2. Tomáš Galásek (Czech Republic & Nürnberg)
3. David Jarolím (Czech Republic & Hamburg)
4. Rudolf Skácel (Czech Republic & Hertha Berlin)
5. Martin Fenin (Czech Republic & Eintracht Frankfurt)
6. Jan Koller (Czech Republic & Nürnberg)
7. Fernando Meira (Portugal & Stuttgart)
8. Hugo Almeida (Portugal & Werder Bremen)
9. Diego Benaglio (Switzerland & Wolfsburg)
10. Ludovic Magnin (Switzerland & Stuttgart)
11. Christoph Spycher (Switzerland & Eintracht Frankfurt)
12. Philipp Degen (Switzerland & Borussia Dortmund)
13. Tranquillo Barnetta (Switzerland & Bayer Leverkusen)
14. Alexander Frei (Switzerland & Borussia Dortmund)
15. Hamit Altintop (Turkey & Bayern Munich)
16. Ramazan Özcan (Austria & Hoffenheim)
17. Martin Harnik (Austria & Werder Bremen)
18. Josip Šimunic (Croatia & Hertha Berlin)
19. Robert Kovac (Croatia & Borussia Dortmund)
20. Ivan Rakitic (Croatia & Schalke)
21. Ivan Klasnic (Croatia & Werder Bremen)
22. Ivica Olic (Croatia & Hamburg)
23. Mladen Petric (Croatia & Borussia Dortmund)
24. Jacek Krzynówek (Poland & Wolfsburg)
25. Jakub Blaszczykowski (Poland & Borussia Dortmund)
26. Willy Sagnol (France & Bayern Munich)
27. Franck Ribéry (France & Bayern Munich)
28. Luca Toni (Italy & Bayern Munich)
29. Joris Mathijsen (Netherlands & Hamburg)
30. Nigel de Jong (Netherlands & Hamburg)
31. Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands & Hamburg)
32. Ciprian Marica (Romania & Stuttgart)
33. Sotiris Kyrgiakos (Greece & Eintracht Frankfurt)
34. Angelos Charisteas (Greece & Nürnberg)
35. Theofanis Gekas (Greece & Bayer Leverkusen)
36. Giannis Amanatidis (Greece & Eintracht Frankfurt)
37. Ivan Saenko (Russia & Nürnberg)
Hoffenheim were promoted to the 1 Bundesliga last season. Despite their many internationals, Nurnburg were relegated.
Only four from the German Squad play outside Germany and one of those, Jens Lehmann has just signed for Stuttgart. That should make Euro 2008 a Bundesliga festival. Whether that is a good thing or not remains to be seen.
37 Non-German Bundesliga players selected for their respective national squads for Euro 2008
1. Jaromir Blazek (Czech Republic & Nürnberg)
2. Tomáš Galásek (Czech Republic & Nürnberg)
3. David Jarolím (Czech Republic & Hamburg)
4. Rudolf Skácel (Czech Republic & Hertha Berlin)
5. Martin Fenin (Czech Republic & Eintracht Frankfurt)
6. Jan Koller (Czech Republic & Nürnberg)
7. Fernando Meira (Portugal & Stuttgart)
8. Hugo Almeida (Portugal & Werder Bremen)
9. Diego Benaglio (Switzerland & Wolfsburg)
10. Ludovic Magnin (Switzerland & Stuttgart)
11. Christoph Spycher (Switzerland & Eintracht Frankfurt)
12. Philipp Degen (Switzerland & Borussia Dortmund)
13. Tranquillo Barnetta (Switzerland & Bayer Leverkusen)
14. Alexander Frei (Switzerland & Borussia Dortmund)
15. Hamit Altintop (Turkey & Bayern Munich)
16. Ramazan Özcan (Austria & Hoffenheim)
17. Martin Harnik (Austria & Werder Bremen)
18. Josip Šimunic (Croatia & Hertha Berlin)
19. Robert Kovac (Croatia & Borussia Dortmund)
20. Ivan Rakitic (Croatia & Schalke)
21. Ivan Klasnic (Croatia & Werder Bremen)
22. Ivica Olic (Croatia & Hamburg)
23. Mladen Petric (Croatia & Borussia Dortmund)
24. Jacek Krzynówek (Poland & Wolfsburg)
25. Jakub Blaszczykowski (Poland & Borussia Dortmund)
26. Willy Sagnol (France & Bayern Munich)
27. Franck Ribéry (France & Bayern Munich)
28. Luca Toni (Italy & Bayern Munich)
29. Joris Mathijsen (Netherlands & Hamburg)
30. Nigel de Jong (Netherlands & Hamburg)
31. Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands & Hamburg)
32. Ciprian Marica (Romania & Stuttgart)
33. Sotiris Kyrgiakos (Greece & Eintracht Frankfurt)
34. Angelos Charisteas (Greece & Nürnberg)
35. Theofanis Gekas (Greece & Bayer Leverkusen)
36. Giannis Amanatidis (Greece & Eintracht Frankfurt)
37. Ivan Saenko (Russia & Nürnberg)
Hoffenheim were promoted to the 1 Bundesliga last season. Despite their many internationals, Nurnburg were relegated.
Only four from the German Squad play outside Germany and one of those, Jens Lehmann has just signed for Stuttgart. That should make Euro 2008 a Bundesliga festival. Whether that is a good thing or not remains to be seen.
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Guide to Euro 2008: Group A
Surely now even the most disinterested of you must be warming a little bit towards the upcoming European Championships which begin on Saturday… aren't you? Yes, the start of the competition is no longer looming on the horizon - it's at the end of your street waiting for a bus and it'll be here before you know it, so let's get cracking with our guide to the four First Round groups.
As you'll know by now, we don't like to waffle on about stuff when there's no need to, and our First Round Group Guide is no exception. We think you want to be told the salient facts that are of most importance without all the unnecessary lecturing, so that's how we're going to go about our business.
To that end, we give you the essential 'need to know' on Euro 2008 Group A.
Group A
Czech Republic
Qualifying
The Czech Republic finished top of Group D with only one defeat in twelve which was against group runners-up Germany. Their top goalscorer was Jan Koller with 6 goals.
Star Talent
Much to choose from. There's Jan Koller (left), nearing the end of his career but still banging the goals in, Chelsea's star goalkeeper Petr Cech and Portsmouth's Milan Baros. And that's without mentioning the likes of David Rozehnal and Marek Jankulowski.
Players you won't be seeing
Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky's injured, so he'll be absent from the midfield. In case you've not noticed, Pavel Nedved, Vladimir Smicer and Karel Poborsky no longer play for the national team, so expect to see a team full of young and upcoming stars during Euro 2008.
Don't mention…
The scandal back in March 2007 which almost forced coach Karel Bruchner to resign. A tabloid journalist managed to sneak into the birthday party of Tomas Ujfalusi at the team hotel and discovered the birthday boy, Tomas Rosicky and three other players in a room with six alleged prostitutes. Bruchner took a deep breath, fined the squad and decided to lumber on as best he could.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Denmark 1 Czech Republic 1
May 27: Czech Republic 2 Lithuania 0
May 30: Czech Republic 3 Scotland 1
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Petr Cech. If the Czechs end up in a penalty shoot-out, he could be the man to perform some heroics.
Portugal
Qualifying
Portugal ended Group A as runners-up only a point away from winners Poland, but only three ahead of chasing Serbia and Finland. For the slightly erratic nature of their form, they did at least have eight goals from Cristiano Ronaldo to fall back on.
Current Form
At best, erratic - at worst, poor. Defeats against Italy and Greece since the start of the year and a narrow victory over Georgia puts Portugal in one of their biggest slumps since the 2002 World Cup. Even in qualifying, they couldn't beat Poland, Serbia or Finland at home or away. They'll need to buck their ideas up in no uncertain terms.
Players you won't be seeing
Forget Figo, Costinha and Pauleta - they're all history now. As for Jorge Andrade, he's desperately trying to save his career due to a knee injury that's kept him out of a second successive major tournament.
Recent friendlies
February 2: Italy 3 Portugal 1
March 26: Portugal 1 Greece 2
May 31: Portugal 2 Georgia 1
Watch out for…
Jose Bosingwa, Chelsea's new right back, signed recently for £16 million (if the tabloids are anything to be believed) plus, of course Mr. C. Ronaldo of Manchester.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Ricardo Quaresma (left). A creative, skilful winger who has a touch of the loose cannon about him (hence his omission from Portugal's 2006 World Cup squad), he should now be given free reign to show the full range of his talent.
Turkey
Qualifying
Turkey, it has to be said, only just scraped into second place in qualifying Group C. They finished seven whole points behind group winners Greece and were only a point ahead of Norway in the end. Hakan Sukur pitched in with five goals as Turkey's top scorer during the qualifiers.
Recent friendlies
May 20: Turkey 1 Slovakia 0
May 25: Turkey 2 Uruguay 3
May 29: Finland 0 Turkey 2
Players you might have heard of
If you're not too well read on the Turkish squad, you should at least have heard of two of its number plying their trade in the Premier League. There's Newcastle United's midfielder Emre Belozoglu, a veteran of more than 50 caps, not to mention Middlesbrough's Tuncay Sanli, a striker who also has plenty of appearances to his name.
Kit check
It's nice to see Turkey return to that tried and trusted design of red shirts with a white band across the middle. It's stylish, it's different and more than anything else, it brings back memories of the two occasions when England beat Turkey 8-0 during the 1980's.
Nicknames
The Turks love 'em. Coach Faith Terim is known as 'The Emperor', Villareal's fans call Nihat Kahveci 'El Turco' and when Emre Belözoğlu was at Inter Milan he was known as 'The Maradona of the Bosphorus'. Such fun…
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Nihat Kahveci, Villareal's 28 year-old striker. He's fast, technically gifted and easily capable of sharing the limelight with his strike partner, Tuncay.
Switzerland
Qualifying
As co-hosts, Switzerland didn't have to concern themselves with the qualifying procedure. They therefore had to contend with alternative opposition for their preparations, including Austria who, strangely, were also available.
Players you might have heard of
Apart from the aforementioned Arsenal pair, there's also Gelson Fernandes (right). He's the Manchester City midfielder who this season played 26 times in the Premier League and even managed to score in City's 3-1 defeat at home to Arsenal. He also picked up six yellow cards during the season, so discipline may be an issue in a competition where suspension needs to be avoided at all costs.
Recent friendlies
November 20: Switzerland 0 Nigeria 1
February 6: England 2 Switzerland 1
March 26: Switzerland 0 Germany 4
Good points, bad points
Thanks to Arsenal's contribution to the squad, Switzerland can be grateful for having a strong defence. Philippe Senderos and Johan Djourou provide the backbone of the back four along with Borussia Dortmund's Philipp Degen and Ludovic Magnin.
Sadly for the Swiss, consistency is a big problem. Over the last year or so, they've lost to Germany but drew against Argentina, they've beaten the Netherlands and lost to the United States. You never quite know which Swiss team will turn up…
Playing style
Don't expect Switzerland to attack at will. Due to their reliable defence, they're likely to sit back and absorb the pressure before counter-attacking… the only thing is, they have no strikers who have a useful turn of pace to rely on. Have they thought this through?
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Bayer Leverkusen's Tranquillo Barnetta. Possibly Switzerland's most important player, he's quick, a great team player and a lynchpin for everything the team creates. And he can score goals too.
As you'll know by now, we don't like to waffle on about stuff when there's no need to, and our First Round Group Guide is no exception. We think you want to be told the salient facts that are of most importance without all the unnecessary lecturing, so that's how we're going to go about our business.
To that end, we give you the essential 'need to know' on Euro 2008 Group A.
Group A
Czech Republic
Qualifying
The Czech Republic finished top of Group D with only one defeat in twelve which was against group runners-up Germany. Their top goalscorer was Jan Koller with 6 goals.
Star Talent
Much to choose from. There's Jan Koller (left), nearing the end of his career but still banging the goals in, Chelsea's star goalkeeper Petr Cech and Portsmouth's Milan Baros. And that's without mentioning the likes of David Rozehnal and Marek Jankulowski.
Players you won't be seeing
Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky's injured, so he'll be absent from the midfield. In case you've not noticed, Pavel Nedved, Vladimir Smicer and Karel Poborsky no longer play for the national team, so expect to see a team full of young and upcoming stars during Euro 2008.
Don't mention…
The scandal back in March 2007 which almost forced coach Karel Bruchner to resign. A tabloid journalist managed to sneak into the birthday party of Tomas Ujfalusi at the team hotel and discovered the birthday boy, Tomas Rosicky and three other players in a room with six alleged prostitutes. Bruchner took a deep breath, fined the squad and decided to lumber on as best he could.
Recent friendlies
March 26: Denmark 1 Czech Republic 1
May 27: Czech Republic 2 Lithuania 0
May 30: Czech Republic 3 Scotland 1
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Petr Cech. If the Czechs end up in a penalty shoot-out, he could be the man to perform some heroics.
Portugal
Qualifying
Portugal ended Group A as runners-up only a point away from winners Poland, but only three ahead of chasing Serbia and Finland. For the slightly erratic nature of their form, they did at least have eight goals from Cristiano Ronaldo to fall back on.
Current Form
At best, erratic - at worst, poor. Defeats against Italy and Greece since the start of the year and a narrow victory over Georgia puts Portugal in one of their biggest slumps since the 2002 World Cup. Even in qualifying, they couldn't beat Poland, Serbia or Finland at home or away. They'll need to buck their ideas up in no uncertain terms.
Players you won't be seeing
Forget Figo, Costinha and Pauleta - they're all history now. As for Jorge Andrade, he's desperately trying to save his career due to a knee injury that's kept him out of a second successive major tournament.
Recent friendlies
February 2: Italy 3 Portugal 1
March 26: Portugal 1 Greece 2
May 31: Portugal 2 Georgia 1
Watch out for…
Jose Bosingwa, Chelsea's new right back, signed recently for £16 million (if the tabloids are anything to be believed) plus, of course Mr. C. Ronaldo of Manchester.
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Ricardo Quaresma (left). A creative, skilful winger who has a touch of the loose cannon about him (hence his omission from Portugal's 2006 World Cup squad), he should now be given free reign to show the full range of his talent.
Turkey
Qualifying
Turkey, it has to be said, only just scraped into second place in qualifying Group C. They finished seven whole points behind group winners Greece and were only a point ahead of Norway in the end. Hakan Sukur pitched in with five goals as Turkey's top scorer during the qualifiers.
Recent friendlies
May 20: Turkey 1 Slovakia 0
May 25: Turkey 2 Uruguay 3
May 29: Finland 0 Turkey 2
Players you might have heard of
If you're not too well read on the Turkish squad, you should at least have heard of two of its number plying their trade in the Premier League. There's Newcastle United's midfielder Emre Belozoglu, a veteran of more than 50 caps, not to mention Middlesbrough's Tuncay Sanli, a striker who also has plenty of appearances to his name.
Kit check
It's nice to see Turkey return to that tried and trusted design of red shirts with a white band across the middle. It's stylish, it's different and more than anything else, it brings back memories of the two occasions when England beat Turkey 8-0 during the 1980's.Nicknames
The Turks love 'em. Coach Faith Terim is known as 'The Emperor', Villareal's fans call Nihat Kahveci 'El Turco' and when Emre Belözoğlu was at Inter Milan he was known as 'The Maradona of the Bosphorus'. Such fun…
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Nihat Kahveci, Villareal's 28 year-old striker. He's fast, technically gifted and easily capable of sharing the limelight with his strike partner, Tuncay.
Switzerland
Qualifying
As co-hosts, Switzerland didn't have to concern themselves with the qualifying procedure. They therefore had to contend with alternative opposition for their preparations, including Austria who, strangely, were also available.
Players you might have heard of
Apart from the aforementioned Arsenal pair, there's also Gelson Fernandes (right). He's the Manchester City midfielder who this season played 26 times in the Premier League and even managed to score in City's 3-1 defeat at home to Arsenal. He also picked up six yellow cards during the season, so discipline may be an issue in a competition where suspension needs to be avoided at all costs.
Recent friendlies
November 20: Switzerland 0 Nigeria 1
February 6: England 2 Switzerland 1
March 26: Switzerland 0 Germany 4
Good points, bad points
Thanks to Arsenal's contribution to the squad, Switzerland can be grateful for having a strong defence. Philippe Senderos and Johan Djourou provide the backbone of the back four along with Borussia Dortmund's Philipp Degen and Ludovic Magnin.
Sadly for the Swiss, consistency is a big problem. Over the last year or so, they've lost to Germany but drew against Argentina, they've beaten the Netherlands and lost to the United States. You never quite know which Swiss team will turn up…
Playing style
Don't expect Switzerland to attack at will. Due to their reliable defence, they're likely to sit back and absorb the pressure before counter-attacking… the only thing is, they have no strikers who have a useful turn of pace to rely on. Have they thought this through?
SPAOTP's Top Tip For Greatness
Bayer Leverkusen's Tranquillo Barnetta. Possibly Switzerland's most important player, he's quick, a great team player and a lynchpin for everything the team creates. And he can score goals too.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Euro 2008 City Guide: Vienna
Following yesterday's cursory overview of the eight cities hosting Euro 2008 games this summer, our inbox became overrun with an email from our good friend over at Football Overdose, Chris C Paul.
With his usual sense of politeness and decorum, he informed us that quite honestly our venue guide to Euro 2008 was a sham and an insult to the intelligence of football fans everywhere. Before we could so much as say 'alright then - see if you can do better', he went and showed us that he could do better, and the result is a guide to the city of Vienna (below) that's really very good. Could you tell we were saying that through gritted teeth?
Vienna
The history of Vienna is redolent with conflict, culture, and intrigue. The Celts, Barbarians, Romans, and Ottomans have all fought it out for this central European hotbed. Even the mongols had their eyes on it at one time and had plans to sweep through on horses to do a bit of raping and pillaging.
More recently the city's back streets and swanky hotels saw the shady goings on of the Cold War and James Bond-style espionage. Throughout history, therefore, Vienna has been a western stronghold, a bastion of the west against the rest.
No wonder, then, that culture, or what we think of as western high culture - the opera and all that - has become so integral to its identity. All the intellectual and cultural highbrow activity mark it out as a place of importance: a place worth preserving in the western mind set.
Loads of composers have lived and produced there, the classical big guns of Strauss and Mozart among them, attracted like artistic types always are to throbbing and diverse cities.
Statues and busts of the great and good dot Stadtpark in the middle of town. More recently a youthful Adolf Hitler would stalk the Viennese streets, inspired by its triumphal Aryan heritage.
Vienna is really a living museum of the west, stately and mysterious. An historic venue for that comparatively small matter of the European Cup, it also has the world's oldest zoo. Oh, and the Viennans make a delicious apple strudel.
With his usual sense of politeness and decorum, he informed us that quite honestly our venue guide to Euro 2008 was a sham and an insult to the intelligence of football fans everywhere. Before we could so much as say 'alright then - see if you can do better', he went and showed us that he could do better, and the result is a guide to the city of Vienna (below) that's really very good. Could you tell we were saying that through gritted teeth?
Vienna
The history of Vienna is redolent with conflict, culture, and intrigue. The Celts, Barbarians, Romans, and Ottomans have all fought it out for this central European hotbed. Even the mongols had their eyes on it at one time and had plans to sweep through on horses to do a bit of raping and pillaging.
More recently the city's back streets and swanky hotels saw the shady goings on of the Cold War and James Bond-style espionage. Throughout history, therefore, Vienna has been a western stronghold, a bastion of the west against the rest.
No wonder, then, that culture, or what we think of as western high culture - the opera and all that - has become so integral to its identity. All the intellectual and cultural highbrow activity mark it out as a place of importance: a place worth preserving in the western mind set.
Loads of composers have lived and produced there, the classical big guns of Strauss and Mozart among them, attracted like artistic types always are to throbbing and diverse cities.
Statues and busts of the great and good dot Stadtpark in the middle of town. More recently a youthful Adolf Hitler would stalk the Viennese streets, inspired by its triumphal Aryan heritage.
Vienna is really a living museum of the west, stately and mysterious. An historic venue for that comparatively small matter of the European Cup, it also has the world's oldest zoo. Oh, and the Viennans make a delicious apple strudel.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Euro 2008: 11 days to go...
The latest leg of our Euro 2008 build-up today focuses on the cities where the matches will be played.The trouble is that Austria and Switzerland, the co-hosts, are... how can we put this... not all that interesting. Oh don't get us wrong, they're both beautiful countries in their own way, but when it comes to making them sound appealing for the purposes of an article like this, you've really got your work cut out.
We therefore present to you our guide to the venues of Euro 2008 featuring all the interesting facts you need to know about each one... or more to the point, the only interesting facts we could find on each one full stop.
Vienna
Vienna is twinned with, amongst others, Los Angeles, Moscow and Zagreb - ironic given that Croatia are in Austria's Euro 2008 group. If Croatia beat the Austrians, I wonder if they'll break all ties with them?
Vienna is also where you'll find the Tiergarten Schönbrunn - the world's oldest zoo.
Vienna is where Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Johann Strauss all lived.
It's also famous for those culinary delicacies, the Wiener schnitzel (fried veal in breadcrumbs) and apple strudel.
Innsbruck
Innsbruck hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics.
It's also said to be where Douglas Adams got his inspiration for 'The Hitchhikers Gudie to the Galaxy' when visiting there in 1971.
The most successful local sportsman is Markus Prock, winner of silver medals in the luge at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. No, we haven't heard of him either.
Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt has an annual BeachVolleyball Grand Slam event that attracts competitors from all over the world. Not bad for a city 446 metres above sea level.
Klagenfurt was a contender for hosting the 2006 Winter Olympics, but missed out to Turin, Italy.
One of Klagenfurt's visitor attractions is the 'Minimundus', a park featuring miniature scale models of well-known buildings and landmarks from around the globe. Fabulous.
Salzburg
Salzburg is the birthplace of the great composer, Mozart.
Means 'salt castle' from the barges that travelled up the Salzach river centuries ago.
Much of the film 'The Sound of Music' was filmed in Salzburg.
Tourists are advised to visit any one of large number of salt mines in the city. Many have facilities available such as cafés, but you're best off not ordering their bacon sandwiches - they're a bit... oh, you're ahead of us on that one.
Basel
Basel is a major industrial centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland.
It's also the home town of renowned tennis player, Roger Federer.
One of the main music venues in the city is the 'Bird's Eye Jazz Club'. Great music, but we wouldn't recommend the food - it's mainly frozen stuff, apparently.
Zurich
Zurich is where you'll find the headquarters of FIFA. No bias towards giving Switzerland the co-hosting rights there, then.
Johanna Spyri, author of the well-known children's book 'Heidi' was born here. Though she lived to the ripe old age of 74, she didn't get to see the 26-part adaptation of the story that was made for TV in the late-1970's. Some people have all the luck...
Zurich also has some 1,200 free drinking fountains, making it one of the world's most fontainous cities. (You see - it's not every football blog site that uses words like 'fontainous', you know...)
Geneva
...is where the Geneva Conventions come from. They're made up of four treaties that outline the correct treatment of non-combatants and prisoners of war. So there.
Geneva's main football club is Servette. Their perennial boast was that they were the only club never to have been relegated from the top flight in Switzerland throughout their history. Sadly in 2005, Servette's parent company went bankrupt and the club were relegated to the third tier. You've gotta laugh, haven't you?
Geneva has featured heavily as a location in many movies and TV shows, including 'Goldfinger', 'Three Colours: Red', 'Babylon 5', and most importantly of all from a cultural perspective, 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'.
Berne
Berne is where Albert Einstein created his Theory of Relativity while working as a clerk in a patent office.
Berne is home to a number of interesting museums including a Natural History Museum, an Alpine Museum and a Psychiatry Museum, although of course no-one in their right mind ever visits the Psychiatry Museum.
Berne also has an annual fair every fourth Monday in November called the 'Zibelemärit' or 'onion market'. It's where the locals get together every year to celebrate the many wonders of the tear-inducing vegetable and it's here you can buy such delicacies as onion pie, onion sausages and onion soup. Oh, and apparently they sell onions as well.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Euro 2008: 15 days to go...
With just over two weeks to go before Euro 2008 gets underway, we felt it was time to get down to the serious business of talking about the really important issue surrounding this year's European Championships.
No, not whether Cristiano Ronaldo will finish as top scorer, nor whether Greece can retain their title. The really important question we need to ask is: Which country has the best team bus?
Once again, those crazy tournament co-ordinators have commissioned some specially designed coaches to ferry the Euro 2008 squads around from venue to venue, and once again you can be assured of two things: (1) They're brightly coloured, and (2) they have a slogan printed on them which is either banal, badly translated into English, incomprehensible or an impressive combination of all three.
Older visitors to SPAOTP may recall we had this conversation almost exactly two years ago in only our fourth ever article. We were building up to the 2006 World Cup and were revelling in the delightful novelty value of having team buses that had individually selected slogans chosen from thousands of entries from each country in question.
How we laughed back then, and how we'll roll our eyes with disillousionment now as we realise they've taken the same approach for Euro 2008. Oh well, let's get this over and done with...
WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO THE EURO 2008 PARADE OF COACHES!
First of all, it's co-host Austria with this delightful vision in red...
Their slogan: "Only together we can win…!" (Huh, yeah - and half of the Brazil team as well, if they'll play...)
Next up it's France sporting a slick blue livery...
Their slogan: "Live together, celebrate together" (...and if all else fails, call a national strike, presumably...)
On now to Greece who arrive at the tournament in this white and blue apparition...
Their slogan: "One team one dream!" (...one plate of moussaka and a pint of ouzo as well, please...)
And here comes the Dutch bus in what else but bright orange!
Their slogan: "1 mission, 1 feeling, together we are orange" (Rejected slogan: '1 dream, 1 goal, 1 prize, 1 goal, 1 golden glance... of what should be... it's a kind of magic.')
Next, onto the Poland coach and a clean red and white look that's bound to impress the crowd...
Their slogan: "…because only sport and good fun counts!" (but if Poland are eliminated at the end of the First Round, we'll sack the manager anyway...)
Trailing in towards the back is the Portuguese coach with their contrasting colour scheme of red and green...
Their slogan: "This coach is driven by the Will to Win" (...or if absent, Senhor José da Silva - he's just passed his test, you see...)
Now it's Spain following on from their near neighbours, and what a vivid shade of red and yellow that is...
Their slogan: "Whatever happens, SPAIN ALWAYS" (...'fails to reach the knock-out stage'? Is that the end of the sentence you couldn't fit on?)
Finally it's our other co-hosts, Switzerland, in yet another red coach. When you've seen one, you've seen 'em all, I suppose...
Their slogan: "Final destination: Vienna" (or jump on the 169 in Zurich High Street if it's the terminus you're after...)
No, not whether Cristiano Ronaldo will finish as top scorer, nor whether Greece can retain their title. The really important question we need to ask is: Which country has the best team bus?
Once again, those crazy tournament co-ordinators have commissioned some specially designed coaches to ferry the Euro 2008 squads around from venue to venue, and once again you can be assured of two things: (1) They're brightly coloured, and (2) they have a slogan printed on them which is either banal, badly translated into English, incomprehensible or an impressive combination of all three.
Older visitors to SPAOTP may recall we had this conversation almost exactly two years ago in only our fourth ever article. We were building up to the 2006 World Cup and were revelling in the delightful novelty value of having team buses that had individually selected slogans chosen from thousands of entries from each country in question.
How we laughed back then, and how we'll roll our eyes with disillousionment now as we realise they've taken the same approach for Euro 2008. Oh well, let's get this over and done with...
WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO THE EURO 2008 PARADE OF COACHES!
First of all, it's co-host Austria with this delightful vision in red...
Their slogan: "Only together we can win…!" (Huh, yeah - and half of the Brazil team as well, if they'll play...)
Next up it's France sporting a slick blue livery...
Their slogan: "Live together, celebrate together" (...and if all else fails, call a national strike, presumably...)
On now to Greece who arrive at the tournament in this white and blue apparition...
Their slogan: "One team one dream!" (...one plate of moussaka and a pint of ouzo as well, please...)
And here comes the Dutch bus in what else but bright orange!
Their slogan: "1 mission, 1 feeling, together we are orange" (Rejected slogan: '1 dream, 1 goal, 1 prize, 1 goal, 1 golden glance... of what should be... it's a kind of magic.')
Next, onto the Poland coach and a clean red and white look that's bound to impress the crowd...
Their slogan: "…because only sport and good fun counts!" (but if Poland are eliminated at the end of the First Round, we'll sack the manager anyway...)
Trailing in towards the back is the Portuguese coach with their contrasting colour scheme of red and green...
Their slogan: "This coach is driven by the Will to Win" (...or if absent, Senhor José da Silva - he's just passed his test, you see...)
Now it's Spain following on from their near neighbours, and what a vivid shade of red and yellow that is...
Their slogan: "Whatever happens, SPAIN ALWAYS" (...'fails to reach the knock-out stage'? Is that the end of the sentence you couldn't fit on?)
Finally it's our other co-hosts, Switzerland, in yet another red coach. When you've seen one, you've seen 'em all, I suppose...
Their slogan: "Final destination: Vienna" (or jump on the 169 in Zurich High Street if it's the terminus you're after...)
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