It is this time again, once every four year, the second largest football competition after the Worldcup will be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. Let's us get ready for this awesome footbal tournament that has always been and will be one of the best competition in sports this year.
The inaugural tournament was entered by around half of UEFA's member associations, 17 in total, and one more than the minimum required. The Republic of Ireland were eliminated by Czechoslovakia in a qualifying play-off (the two teams met after the drawing of lots). The first championship match proper was held on 28 September 1958 in Moscow's Central Stadium – the USSR beating Hungary 3-1, with the home side's Anatoli Ilyin scoring the first goal after four minutes – and the inaugural competition took place over 22 months between 1958 and 1960. From small acorns do great oaks rise. The first winner was former USSR
2012 EURO
Hosted in 8 cities all over Poland and Ukraine from June 8th to July 1st. The opening game will be the host Poland vs Greece in group A at National Stadium - Warsaw - Poland. The final will be held on July 1st at Olympic Stadium - Kiev - Ukraine.
The 2012 UEFA EURO consists of 16 teams divided into 4 groups. These teams have come through from a two years qualifier of almost all EU nations.After the group stage, number 1 and number 2 of each group will advance to the quarter-final.
Detailed Teams Information This section will get updated regularly until the actual event started. This is where you find information about a certain team its players and related things. I hope you guys can contribute to this section by posting your national team squad, comments and related activity.
In the first update, we have Greece presented by Steveling
This time round we aren't in the possession of a world class keeper like Nikopolidis was. •Tzorvas -29 years old- of Palermo though is solid. He won't save us from defeat alone, but he can help along.
Defense
So, Greece's main strengh is once again its defense. This generation is blessed with some extremely talented backs and stoppers.
• V.Torosidis -26 years old- (right/left back-def/mid) of Olympiakos. He's very fast, very strong, has a good header and can score like a mothafucka(video)+ Show Spoiler +
. His name has being linked quite a few times with big clubs and I'm very surprised and happy he's still in Greece. A high caliber back. • A.Papadopoulos -27 years old- (stopper) of Olympiakos. Strong, tall, fast( not agile though). He's the natural successor of Dellas from the team of 2004. He's someone you can depend on with the task of marking a high profile player and pull through it. • S.Papastathopoulos -23 years old- (stopper) of Werder Bremen. Athletic, smart, knows how to play the ball down his field as well. He's the one who had the biggest breakthrough so far in his career, with a jump to Milan 2 years ago, in which he didn't manage to take a starters jersey and thus he left. He's the most technically gifted full stopper I've seen coming from Greece and his marking is also remarcable(nice pun lol). He will most probably be bought by Juventus this summer. •K.Papadopoulos -20 years old- (stopper, def/mid) of Shalke. He's like Hulk. Just look at his body, and he has being like that since I first show him on Olympiakos, while he was only 14 years old. The young prodigy is like a natural disaster set upon the unfortunate attackers of the enemy team. His short passing is solid, and he's capable of 70 meters long crosses with accuracy. This one will be a world class player in a couple of years, many expectations from him this summer.
Midfield
This is by far our weakest line unfortunately. We still have Karagounis and Katsouranis from the old squad, but they are kinda bad now, too old. These are their last appearances though so I hope they will put their heart into it. The only really notable player is : •G.Fetfatzidis -21 years old- (att mid, winger) of Olympiakos. Greece hasn't be lucky with such a promising talent for the last 15 years. He's short, fast, dribbles with ease, and he's a lefty. He got a Messi vibe in him, albeit without the goalscoring ability.( I hope he won't be afraid to ask the ball from his seasoned teammates and step up to a leading position. Video. + Show Spoiler +
Offense
Our offense is better than the 2004 squad. Aside from the 2 competent veterans Lyberopoulos and Salpiggidis, the 2 starters are : •G.Samaras - 27 years old- ( att mid, forward) of Celtic. Although he can score given the chance, he's most important cause he can hold the ball and make the game. He has excellent technique for his height and he's the man who creates chances for the centre forward. •T.Gekas -31 years old- (centre forward) of Samsunspor. He is beyond his best years in Bundesliga where he had many good seasons with solid 20's, but he remains a prolific scorer. We won't make many chances for goal, but the few we will, he has the ability to turn them into gold.
All in all, we once come again armed up to the teeth. We won't play pretty, we won't play fast, but we will play solid and calm. In raw talent and ability this team is better to the 2004 but that doesn't mean much. I expect to get out of our group and be eliminated right after.
Maarten Stekelenburg, 29 years old, AS Roma. Successor of Edwin van der Sar (one of the greatest goalkeepers Holland has had) and has already proven himself that he can save Holland from losing points. He's tall (1,97m), strong and has decent reflexes. Imo one of the top keepers in the world (top 5) normally (this season it's somewhat bad compared to before though).
Defense
This is Hollands biggest weakness and this could cost us the Euro Cup if you compare to the other top class countries participating.
John Heitinga, 29 years old, defender of Everton. He's the only one in our defense that has played a reasonable season compared to the others.
Joris Mathijsen, 32 years old, defender of Malaga CF. He's really old and not our best defender. Compared to the last generations he's one of our weakest central defenders we've had in Holland. Very slow and afaik hasn't been playing much for Malaga.
Erik Pieters, 23 years old, left back of PSV. He's supposedly our best defender on the left back but he's injured now. This is our biggest weakness in the defense. He's slow, loses his duels a lot and makes poor decisions. He's only here because there is no one better.
Gregory van der Wiel, 24 years old, right back of Ajax. He's Hollands best right back and most talented players. His defending isn't bad but it isn't that strong either. He attacks from the flanks a lot and he does it really well like Dani Alves for Barcelona. He's fast, agile and can give decent passes. The combination with Robben will definitely make this one of our stronger sides on the right.
Midfield
This is where it starts for Holland
Rafael van der Vaart, 29 years old, Tottenham Hotspurs. He's one of our top players in the team and a world class player but is still sitting on our bench because there are better players on his position which is the left half. His strong points are his insight, positioning and his deadly passes and also quite agile in the tight spaces. His weak point is that he's slow, gets injured a lot and most of all his condition isn't strong as he can't play a full game normally.
Mark van Bommel, 35 years old, AC Milan. I think he's our oldest player in the team but still such a world class defensive mid fielder. He's strong, not too bad on the speed but most of all he's cunning. He plays extremely cunning mind games and physical tricks on his opponents. He plays the referee to get more leeway for making fouls. One of the running engines of our team and in the last World Cup as well.
Nigel de Jong, 27 years old, Manchester City. With Mark van Bommel he'll be the defensive block on the midfield stopping all attacks. He's reasonably fast, strong and his defensive skills are good as well. He makes a lot of fouls that terrifies his opponents and in some way he doesn't get punished heavily for it imo. If you don't watch out he'll break your legs and smiles with it. He's Holland's B.A. Baraccus. Weak points are his intelligence as he makes bad decisions most of the times and he gets emotional quite fast. So getting him out of his rhythm is done quickly.
Ibrahim Affelay, 26 years old, Barcelona. One of Hollands biggest talents. He usually plays left half/left forward striker depending on the lineup. He's fast, has good passes, strong on the ball but is very easy to get injured. He has been missing almost the entire season for Barcelona but hopefully he'll be in shape for the Euro Cup because he can make a difference. There aren't any major weak points in his play as he helps defending and his offense is really good and doesn't lose the ball that much.
Wesley Sneijder, 27 years old, Internazionale. Offensive central midfielder. He has been playing quite bad current season and hasn't been in top shape. Normally when he's in shape he's one of the best players in the world. His strong points are his passes, he is dual legged and has a powerful shot. Weak point is that he's small so he isn't strong in the air.
Dirk Kuyt, 32 years old, Liverpool FC. Right half of Holland. Not much to say about him. He's a runner and he probably runs the most of the team. He helps defending a lot and when our right back van der Wiel is attacking he's usually defending. He usually has the preference over Arjen Robben by our coach (crazy isn't it?) on the right half position.
Arjen Robben, 28 years old, Bayern Munchen. Right half of Holland. He's one of our top3 players in the team and is left legged. World class player as he can beat almost any player when it's 1v1 if he's in shape. Currently he isn't in his best shape from what I've seen so far. His strong points are his speed, his precise shots and his ability to pass multiple opponents. His weak points is that he's usually injured, not strong and his defensive skills are bad.
Offense
Here comes probably the 2 most in form strikers on the planet that Holland luckily has in 1 team But our coach will probably not use these 2 together in 1 team as there's only 1 spot for a striker.
Robin van Persie, 28 years old, Arsenal. Forward striker of Holland and recently crowned Player of the year in the EPL. Not our strongest striker in the team but the better player overall for Holland. He's fast, has strong shots, good passes, strong on the ball, agile too much to name tbh His weak point? Well the only weak point I would say is that he doesn't score much for Holland :/ He is not our best striker for Holland and hopefully he can repeat what he did for Arsenal at the Euro Cup.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 28 years old, Schalke 04. Forward striker of Holland and a bench sitter because we have Robin. He's a real goalgetter and currently the number one striker in Germany. He's reasonably fast, decent shots, decent passes pretty much decent on all but 1 thing. He's the best when it comes to positioning in front of the goal. He's on the right place on the right time almost every time for Holland. One of Hollands most scoring striker and it's crazy that he's sitting on our bench. His weak point is that compared to RVP he's the worse player in overall player skills and which is the reason he's never in the starting lineup when RVP can play.
Manuel Neuer, 26 years old, FC Bayern Munich I would consent with some people who call him the best goal keeper in the world. At least he is in the top five.
Defense
If there is a weakness in Germany's national team, it could be the defense.
Jerome Boateng, 23 years old, defender of FC Bayern Munich. Boateng's main position is center back, but he can also play full back, which supposedly will be his role in the upcoming EURO.
Holger Badstuber, 23 years old, defender of FC Bayern Munich. Holger Badstuber has played a total of 49 games for Bayern Munich this season and has been one of the club’s most consistent players.
Mats Hummels, 23 years old, defender of Borussia Dortmund. Hummels's performances this season displayed great quality in tackling, positioning, and composure. He has attracted praise from pundits and coaches alike, and he is considered one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga, and in Europe, even if he couldn't hold up his form in the CL.
Philipp Lahm, 28 years old, full back of FC Bayern Munich. Lahm is considered one of the best full backs in the world, and was included in the World Cup team of the tournament in 2006 and 2010, the UEFA Team of the Tournament in 2008 and in the FIFA Team of the Year 2008. He is one of the "oldies" in Germanys national team, and also the captain of the team.
Midfield
I consider Germany's midfield at least on par with Spain's. It is really potent.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, 27 years old, FC Bayern Munich. He is Germanys leader and a world class player but is still trying to recover from some recent injuries. He is still not up to his usual form.
Sami Khedira, 25 years old, Real Madrid. He is considered a dynamic midfielder with great aerial ability who can cover a lot of ground, recover the ball and quickly join in the team attack with his powerful mid-range shooting and heading ability. The fact that he forms the defensive midfield of Madrid together with Xabi Alonso should speak for it self.
Mesut Özil, 23 years old, Real Madrid. Özil is acclaimed for his finesse and improvisation as an attacking midfielder. His style and knack for providing assists for his team-mates has been compared to that of Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane, even if he lacks the finishing ability. In 2011, he ranked second in assists in La Liga with 17, and first in major European competitions with 25.
Toni Kroos, 22 years old, FC Bayern Munich. Central midfielder. Five years ago, Toni Kroos was the best player in the world in his age group. Kroos’ technique and playmaking vision is impeccable. This season he has vastly improved his his ball-retention and decision-making skills.
Thomas Müller, 22 years old, FC Bayern Munich. Müller plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles - as an attacking midfielder, second striker, and on either wing. He has been praised for his pace, technique and composure. He was named as the Best Young Player of the 2010 World Cup and won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, with five goals and three assists.
Offense
Lukas Podolski, 26 years old, 1. FC Köln (going to Arsenal). Podolski is a left footed attacker known for his strong shot, technique and probing attacks from the left side. The 2011–12 season was the final season in his second spell for Köln. Despite the team's relegation to the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga, Podolski impressively scored 18 goals in 29 league Fußball-Bundesliga appearances.
Mario Gomez, 26 years old, FC Bayern Munich. Gomez can shoot with both feet, and is considered to be a moderate aerial threat. His best ability however remains as his anticipation to crosses and passes and finish them. Arsène Wenger described him as "a great finisher who is often in the right place to finish off moves." Moreover, his body balance and ability to hold up the ball often creates trouble for defenders.
Miroslav Klose, 33 years old, SS Lazio. Klose has played 113 times and scored 63 goals for Germany. With five goals, he was the top scorer and Golden Boot winner at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup, all of which were headers. He scored four times in 2010 World Cup, giving him a total of 14 World Cup goals. During the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Klose has scored at least one goal in every single game he played, striking against all of Germanys opponents. In his first season for Lazio he scored 12 goals in 27 games.
I also have shamelessly make a copy/paste of the site which can be view in the spoiler + Show Spoiler +
Coverage This sport event will cover by most of major broadcast companies all over the world. Here is some website that can keep you up-to-date. + Show Spoiler +
What to watch This is only my personal point of view after a quick look at the groups. This will also be the main discussion of this thread.
Group A
This group is rather boring and the easiest group out of the four, beside from Greece, all other teams have a good chance to advance to the quarterfinal. Game to watch should be Czech vs Poland, Poland vs Russia.
Group C
Two big names Spain and Italy with Ireland as surprise factor. This will be a very interesting group while the game between Spain and Italy is a must watch and also a decider for whom will take the 1st place. Aside from Ireland vs Croatia, all other games a good to watch.
Group D
Compare to the other host, Ukraine is really out of luck. France and England are the favourite but Sweden can put on some big big surprise as well. France is the favourite, England has a slight advantage over Sweden and Ukraine but not by much. All games will be tense and awesome to watch.
Group B
And here we come to the death group of EURO 2012. Beside from Denmark, this group contains finalist, semi-finalist of some recent Worldcup and EURO. This will be the most interesting group to watch, I cant really decide who has the edge between Netherlands, Germany and Portugal, we will just have to wait untill their last friendly match later this month to see who is the one that has the best form comes into the competition. Also, never count Denmark out, just remember what they did in EURO 1992. All matches are must watch, so schedule your time early!
I will continue to add more info into this thread. Please use this thread as a discussion thread for EURO 2012.
Teams rating
Aseq make a tier list here, this is only his opinion. Discussion is welcome + Show Spoiler +
My (Quick) Tier List : S: Spain, Germany A+: Italy, Portugal, Netherlands A: England, Croatia, Russia, France B: Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece C: Ireland, Poland, Ukraine
Since TL.net has alot of NA users which might not be that familiar with the game. Here is comprehensive guide to football(soccer) on Fifa official site with interactive and voice narrative. Just follow it through( takes about 10 mins to an hour depending on how much you want to learn)
have to disagree with the OP's predictions concerning the groups. first of all as a football fan you should watch ALL of the games if you can. Imo the quality of the average team in the european championship is far superior from the world cup (f.e.) - every team can win this realistic speaking.
I agree with your point that group A is probably the worst group, but calling it boring? Every team is of equal skill so we should have some intense fights which is always fun to see. Also greece deserves to be at the EC (as they qualified first in their qualifikation group) besides they won the EC in 2004 so i don't get why you give them so much shit? Is it because they don't play that attractive offensive football? :/
The rest of the groups will be very close too with group C beeing presumably the most clear, but i can also see croatia or ireland advancing so nothing is set in stone there too.
rofl. group a vs group b. Once again the wisdom of 'random' seeding.
Ukraine has a decent chance because both England and France are still undergoing significant turmoil following their shameful World Cup performance from two years ago. Who is the best French or English player right now? No one knows!
This group is rather boring and the easiest group out of the four, beside from Greece, all other teams have a good chance to advance to the quarterfinal. Game to watch should be Czech vs Poland, Poland vs Russia.
Euro 2004 would like a word with you, xP. But seriously we are 2nd favorite behind Russia who is very strong. Dunno why you rate us so low.
This group is rather boring and the easiest group out of the four, beside from Greece, all other teams have a good chance to advance to the quarterfinal. Game to watch should be Czech vs Poland, Poland vs Russia.
Euro 2004 would like a word with you, xP. But seriously we are 2nd favorite behind Russia who is very strong. Dunno why you rate us so low.
Greece played some of the most negative football I've ever seen. Still, keys players from that era is now gone or at their worst form in their professional career. No team in the final is a weak team but compare to other three Greece is at a slight disadvantage.
@rapture: yep, true fans will watch all the matches they can, I myself will do that. But its not the case for many people so I just want to give out some preview so people with little to no knowledge of football can have a good start in what they are going to watch.
This group is rather boring and the easiest group out of the four, beside from Greece, all other teams have a good chance to advance to the quarterfinal. Game to watch should be Czech vs Poland, Poland vs Russia.
Euro 2004 would like a word with you, xP. But seriously we are 2nd favorite behind Russia who is very strong. Dunno why you rate us so low.
Greece played some of the most negative football I've ever seen. Still, keys players from that era is now gone or at their worst form in their professional career. No team in the final is a weak team but compare to other three Greece is at a slight disadvantage.
I bet you can't name even 3 of our starting players. You are just talking out of your ass. And we played what we could, just like chelsea against barca.
This group is rather boring and the easiest group out of the four, beside from Greece, all other teams have a good chance to advance to the quarterfinal. Game to watch should be Czech vs Poland, Poland vs Russia.
Euro 2004 would like a word with you, xP. But seriously we are 2nd favorite behind Russia who is very strong. Dunno why you rate us so low.
Greece played some of the most negative football I've ever seen. Still, keys players from that era is now gone or at their worst form in their professional career. No team in the final is a weak team but compare to other three Greece is at a slight disadvantage.
Not really imo. No one knows where Poland stands. They will get tons of crowd support and thats their strongest point. The Czech Repulic is not looking that strong atm, certainly not as strong as they were 5-10 years ago. Russia is a strong team and the favorit in the group.
greece is not weak imo their chances to advance aren't worse than polands (as mentioned before, it's difficult to predict, because of the home crowd) or czech republics russia - gre, russia is the favourite, but still - I wouldn't be surprised if greece would take a win
On May 02 2012 18:11 DaCruise wrote: Shit just got real. Still a month until it starts though but I am so much more stoked about this than the Olympics.
Hell yeah. The Olympics don't have Nicolas Bendtner, or as we fans refer to him as, Nikki B.
Anyway Spain should be the obvious favourite to win the whole thing. Germany and Netherlands should have a decent chance as well.
Then theres Italy and France that seems to be getting into better shape again but I wouldn't consider them a championship contender, also England never wins anything. (sorry)
And 3rd tier maybe Portugal and a potential upset climbing high from Group A.
Netherlands always ends up in groups of death. 2012: Portugal, Germany Denmark and Netherlands 2008: France,Italy, Romania and Netherlands 2004: Czech, Germany, Latvia and Netherlands 2000: France, Czech, Denmark and Netherlands
Interestingly though is that Holland always proceeded to move on from these groups of death. This time however I don't think Holland will move on. I think Germany and Denmark will move on this time.
Denmark having finished on top of Portugal and just are always good and Germany is a no-brainer tbh.
Holland has weak defense and even our offensive players aren't in shape except for our 2 strikers which our coach will probably only use RVP and not Huntelaar (crazy tbh).
Portugal never impressed me tbh. They have great individual players but are not strong when it comes to playing as a team.
I sincerely hope we don't see a Battle of Nuremberg v2.0 this time around And well.... Germany and Holland I only hope that Holland crushes Germany and then i'm fine if they are knocked out in group stages :p
That's a sick group for Ireland. But still rooting for them.
To think we could have been in Czechs' spot in Group A or even England's in Group D if our FA didn't have a brainfart and sacked the only competent manager we're ever going to have mid-qualifiers for no reason at all.
Wow it's a travesty that groups A and B were able to come out that way. One of the big teams from B should have been in A. Sucks for the tournament that one of those titans is going to be out and two of those clearly inferior teams in A will make it through.
On May 02 2012 21:34 shannn wrote: Holland has weak defense and even our offensive players aren't in shape except for our 2 strikers which our coach will probably only use RVP and not Huntelaar (crazy tbh).
You don't think you'll beat Denmark? I think Holland will 1-1-1 (W/D/L) at the very worst. Definitely see you winning one game or even twice vs Portugal and Denmark. And I agree as Schalke fan, The Hunter is tops and Snejder has apparently been substitute most of the seasons at Inter. Have faith man, you have the two most in form strikers at the championships.
e: Can somebody Spanish tell me if there's any talk about Raul making the Euro squad?
Yup, dual host autoqualifying in group 1 rule should be changed - group B is definitely sick. Don't know whether I believe Oranges will advance, us having a bad record vs Portugal. At the moment i'd go for: A Russia - Greece (Poland really aren't that good, home advantage won't be enough) B Germany - Portugal C Spain - Italy D France - Sweden (England notoriously underachieving with their national team) But i'm going to try to watch as many matches as possible, Euro championships have the toughest groups of any tournament! I'm very hyped, not even for my own country as much as all the excitement (read: betting) around it.
On May 02 2012 21:34 shannn wrote: Holland has weak defense and even our offensive players aren't in shape except for our 2 strikers which our coach will probably only use RVP and not Huntelaar (crazy tbh).
You don't think you'll beat Denmark? I think Holland will 1-1-1 (W/D/L) at the very worst. Definitely see you winning one game or even twice vs Portugal and Denmark. And I agree as Schalke fan, The Hunter is tops and Snejder has apparently been substitute most of the seasons at Inter. Have faith man, you have the two most in form strikers at the championships.
e: Can somebody Spanish tell me if there's any talk about Raul making the Euro squad?
I think if you add both their goal tallies together they barely pass Ronaldo's goals scored. ^^
On May 02 2012 21:34 shannn wrote: Holland has weak defense and even our offensive players aren't in shape except for our 2 strikers which our coach will probably only use RVP and not Huntelaar (crazy tbh).
You don't think you'll beat Denmark? I think Holland will 1-1-1 (W/D/L) at the very worst. Definitely see you winning one game or even twice vs Portugal and Denmark. And I agree as Schalke fan, The Hunter is tops and Snejder has apparently been substitute most of the seasons at Inter. Have faith man, you have the two most in form strikers at the championships.
e: Can somebody Spanish tell me if there's any talk about Raul making the Euro squad?
I think if you add both their goal tallies together they barely pass Ronaldo's goals scored. ^^
THEM FIGHTING WORDS SON
I saw Sporting a few times in the Europa and their best players were Van Wolfswinkel and Schjaars.
On May 02 2012 21:34 shannn wrote: Holland has weak defense and even our offensive players aren't in shape except for our 2 strikers which our coach will probably only use RVP and not Huntelaar (crazy tbh).
You don't think you'll beat Denmark? I think Holland will 1-1-1 (W/D/L) at the very worst. Definitely see you winning one game or even twice vs Portugal and Denmark. And I agree as Schalke fan, The Hunter is tops and Snejder has apparently been substitute most of the seasons at Inter. Have faith man, you have the two most in form strikers at the championships.
e: Can somebody Spanish tell me if there's any talk about Raul making the Euro squad?
I think if you add both their goal tallies together they barely pass Ronaldo's goals scored. ^^
THEM FIGHTING WORDS SON
I saw Sporting a few times in the Europa and their best players were Van Wolfswinkel and Schjaars.
Sure if you don't count Rui Patricio, Joao Perreira and Daniel Carrico. Wolfswinkel is a great striker but isn't much more then a target for people to cross to. Schjaars pretty beast.
Oh man I'm gonna waste so much money on betting again. Better start saving.
I don't think we'll even get through the group this time, with Germany recently beating us 3-0 I don't think we'll be able to beat them. We'll get unlucky in one of the other matches and we're out.
On May 02 2012 21:40 Surrealistic wrote: e: Can somebody Spanish tell me if there's any talk about Raul making the Euro squad?
I'm not Spanish nor do I have any information but I guess with Villa potentially still injured and Torres playing an awful season man can always dream.
I still don't think it's going to happen though, would be too good...
On May 02 2012 21:48 aseq wrote: A Russia - Greece (Poland really aren't that good, home advantage won't be enough)
I agree though I think it will be Russia/Czechs. Seriously - we have this saying about our nat. team that on big tournaments we play three types of matches: a) opening match b) match for everything c) match for honour.
Surprisingly we are the best in matches for honour. Yea.
Well fuck me I am moving to China in the middle of the tournament Either way, I hope Netherlands win this. I like their team and mainly supporting them because they have RVP LOL Objectively speaking, I don't mind who wins as long as there are exciting matches to watch. Other than that, I hope Croatia makes it far (I don't see them winning it though). Living in Croatia right now so yeah. Does anyone know if Torres in is the squad for Spain or do the lineups still have to be decided (for the most part)?
On May 02 2012 22:05 disco wrote: Oh man I'm gonna waste so much money on betting again. Better start saving.
I don't think we'll even get through the group this time, with Germany recently beating us 3-0 I don't think we'll be able to beat them. We'll get unlucky in one of the other matches and we're out.
Hope Sneijder gets back in shape.
you shouldn't overrate this game, Netherlands missed 4 players and Germany missed Lahm and Schweinsteiger and Gomez. It was just a friendly match which Germany wanted to win. Van Marwjik did just test younger players. this 3-0 result says nothing.
i think germany and netherlands are going to advance in group B
On May 02 2012 23:51 Ayush_SCtoss wrote: Well fuck me I am moving to China in the middle of the tournament Either way, I hope Netherlands win this. I like their team and mainly supporting them because they have RVP LOL Objectively speaking, I don't mind who wins as long as there are exciting matches to watch. Other than that, I hope Croatia makes it far (I don't see them winning it though). Living in Croatia right now so yeah. Does anyone know if Torres in is the squad for Spain or do the lineups still have to be decided (for the most part)?
On May 03 2012 01:45 Timurid wrote: Italy is going to edge spain in their group and France is going to the final against Germany! I don't know who's going to win the final.
Do you have a pet animal telling you those things? It might be worth betting on then.
On May 03 2012 01:45 Timurid wrote: Italy is going to edge spain in their group and France is going to the final against Germany! I don't know who's going to win the final.
Do you have a pet animal telling you those things? It might be worth betting on then.
i predicted the final for the world cup, but was wrong with the result...
I'm so excited for this, much more so than for the Olympics. I believe Germany, Spain and Holland is on a level above the other teams though, France was really underwhelming in the last World Cup, England got a new manager like yesterday and Italy, well they could do well I guess. If I were to put any money on what teams we will see in the finals it would be a repeat of the last Euro cup, Spain-Germany.
This German team might be even better than the one that was sent out in 2010, only a second world class full back would be needed to make it complete. Too bad David Alaba is Austrian, I guess we need another "Anschluss" lol.
The development of the German national team over the last years was amazing, let's hope for even more new German talents in the future ^_^
I think it's funny how few people consider Italy a threat, they are a team that shines in big tournaments similar to Germany. Also France could suprise some people if the play as a team because they have great individual players.
On May 03 2012 18:52 Maenander wrote: This German team might be even better than the one that was sent out in 2010, only a second world class full back would be needed to make it complete. Too bad David Alaba is Austrian, I guess we need another "Anschluss" lol.
The development of the German national team over the last years was amazing, let's hope for even more new German talents in the future ^_^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMq_op3yzic
The German squad definitely got stronger. Nearly every key player has improved and became more experienced. Especially Özil could become the star of this tourney. The midfield alone is scary as hell. I mean, if you can bring gems like Götze or Reus from the bench, then you know that you have quality there.
The defense will become the deciding factor. The lack of a really strong left defender could surely hurt the team. I fear, that Löw will have no choice, but to put Lahm on his weaker side and Boateng as right defender with Hummels/Badstuber building the center. If everyone stays healthy I can see this working out.
Nonetheless Germany has a bright future with the key figures still being fairly young and tons of strong talent coming. The strength of the ideology of the Bundesliga is really shining here.
Germany's midfield is beastly, Ozil will be a key for Germany success. If Gomez could do well(he tends to suck when it comes to big tourney) and Low finds a way to beef up the defense line Germany will be the favourite. Last time Germany won the EURO was in 1996 right? With Behoff, Klinsman, Summer?
I also have plan to add some more contents to the OP such as team squad, key players to watch out for, new talents that need our attention.
On May 03 2012 19:33 Malaz wrote: I think it's funny how few people consider Italy a threat, they are a team that shines in big tournaments similar to Germany.
You mean like how they shined themselves to last place with 2 points in their very easy 2010 World Cup group lol.
SWEEEDEN woop woop. Shame we'll most likely die to England and France, but I think we have a good chance of getting to the quarters. Ibra will be so fucking important, as will Svensson. Hopefully Jonas Olsson will keep his shit together next to Mellberg. Will also be interesting to see if Guidetti gets any play time.
My (Quick) Tier List : S: Spain, Germany A+: Italy, Portugal, Netherlands A: England, Croatia, Russia, France B: Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece C: Ireland, Poland, Ukraine
That seems pretty accurate, though I think France may be stonger and make a surprise at the Euro. You can also switch Greece and Poland. Poland I think will surprise too. They have the homecrowd and Lewandowski, who is very very underrated for non german viewers.
I just hope that Dick Advokaat doesn't act up to his first name (lol) and so our team will be acting like a collective, not like 11 individuals that don't fucking understand each other. (edit: perhaps you heard the news that he's leaving after EURO no matter what is the result)
We've got "rich experience" of failing even easy groups (no world class team out of all four in this group, tbh). So I'm somewhat worried.
On May 03 2012 20:07 Caphe wrote: Germany's midfield is beastly, Ozil will be a key for Germany success. If Gomez could do well(he tends to suck when it comes to big tourney) and Low finds a way to beef up the defense line Germany will be the favourite. Last time Germany won the EURO was in 1996 right? With Behoff, Klinsman, Summer?
I don't think that Özil is our key player. He is obviously a great player and will do well yadda yadda, but we have so much quality in our offensive midfield that we can do well without him, Götze or even Kroos can play his position on an extremely high level aswell.
Our defensive midfield will be key to our success considering our style, so 2 out of Schweinsteiger/Khedira/Kroos, depending on who actually plays. Schweinsteiger should be set in stone, he is our leader and when he is in shape (like before his ~6 month injury) our best player. Khedira will most likely start, but you can't dismiss Kroos as an option imo. He started quite often for our national team in 2011, he always delivered and is even a better player since then, he improved so much this season that I would not be too surprised to see Schweinsteiger and Kroos starting.
It seems like Löws system is runninger smoother and smoother since he took over after 2006. I think this time we can finally beat Spain. All those high finishes since 1996 (2nd place 2002 World Cup and 2008 Euro and 3rd place 2006 World Cup and 2010 World Cup) are just not satisfing enough
I really hope for an exiting match between Holland vs Germany We need to avenge our 3:0 loss before and what better than in the group stages (and finals hopefully?) Ultimate joy for me tbh `
* Dream mode off * Okay, so Germany is probably going to crush Group B and the rest will have to battle for 2nd place. I'm not counting Denmark out because they're really solid as a team. I can see any of the remaining 3 teams get 2nd place and at the end of the day it's going to end up on the shape of the day the players are in.
Hopefully for Holland our top players Sneijder, Affelay, Robben get into top shape with RVP, Huntelaar and VDV we could rock this Euro cup.
I'll be praying to God every single second about our defense not making too many (hopefully no) major mistakes. Our defense is just so poor it's unbelievable when you compare it to the offensive star players we have >.>
On May 03 2012 21:04 clusen wrote: Our defensive midfield will be key to our success considering our style, so 2 out of Schweinsteiger/Khedira/Kroos, depending on who actually plays. Schweinsteiger should be set in stone, he is our leader and when he is in shape (like before his ~6 month injury) our best player. Khedira will most likely start, but you can't dismiss Kroos as an option imo. He started quite often for our national team in 2011, he always delivered and is even a better player since then, he improved so much this season that I would not be too surprised to see Schweinsteiger and Kroos starting.
Kroos is in great form, but against teams with great offensive potential like the Netherlands or Portugal a more defensively minded player like Khedira is needed next to Schweinsteiger imo. Kroos played well against the Dutch last time, but it was in Schweinsteiger's role and with Khedira next to him.
I just hope Netherlands plays good football this year. I don't even care if they go out, aslong as its in a blaze of glory. Thats better than reaching the finals while playing terrible and a bit dirty for most of the tournament. Previous EURO made me prouder than the world cup despite going out second round. I do not like this new play only to win attitude that is all over the place now.
Very much hope that the game against Portugal doesn't turn into the digraceful game it was last time. That shit was an affront to everything good and pure about this game. Though I must admit Boulahrouz kicking Ronaldo out brought me some guilty pleasure, even if it was a crime against humanity.
Don't know what to think about Denmark, they've done well but the Dutch side has so many great players compared to the Danes that they are the heavy favorites.
I think Germany has a great chance of taking this whole thing. Great team and beautiful play. Will be rooting for them if/when Holland goes out. Looking forward to Holland - Germany for sure. Spain ofcourse has the best team on paper, but that doesn't mean much.
In the end alot is going to depend on our star players being in good shape. If RVP, Robben and Sneijder have a good tournament they will do amazing. But that seems unlikely right now.
On May 03 2012 20:25 aseq wrote: Yes, Bierhoff, Klinsmann, Sammer
My (Quick) Tier List : S: Spain, Germany A+: Italy, Portugal, Netherlands A: England, Croatia, Russia, France B: Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece C: Ireland, Poland, Ukraine
I would not put Croatia so far up. We played like crap during qualifiers in weakest qualifier group and got to EU2012 only because of one good game against Turkey.
I say germany wins it. in the real - bayern match, there were like 9 potential german national team starters. But then again, they do have that semifinal curse... I like spain too, but villa probably won't be the same as before injury, and even though they have so much depth at midfield, their strikers are much poorer
You got Modric, Perisic and Mandzukic! I believe that Croatia will win their Group and make the Semis!
Bilic their manager is an important part too. I would bet on Croatia make the quarter but not so sure about the semi. Also Bilic said recently that his goal is the FINAL.
You got Modric, Perisic and Mandzukic! I believe that Croatia will win their Group and make the Semis!
Bilic their manager is an important part too. I would bet on Croatia make the quarter but not so sure about the semi. Also Bilic said recently that his goal is the FINAL.
I don't think Croatia will make it out of the group. I have a feeling italy can edge spain with a good defensive stance in that group.
You got Modric, Perisic and Mandzukic! I believe that Croatia will win their Group and make the Semis!
Bilic their manager is an important part too. I would bet on Croatia make the quarter but not so sure about the semi. Also Bilic said recently that his goal is the FINAL.
I don't think Croatia will make it out of the group. France will dominate it while England may slide by to grab the 2nd spot.
That's fine and dandy, but you're mistaken. Croatia is in group C (with Spain, Ireland and Italy), while England and France are in group D (with Sweden and Ukraine).
You got Modric, Perisic and Mandzukic! I believe that Croatia will win their Group and make the Semis!
Bilic their manager is an important part too. I would bet on Croatia make the quarter but not so sure about the semi. Also Bilic said recently that his goal is the FINAL.
I don't think Croatia will make it out of the group. France will dominate it while England may slide by to grab the 2nd spot.
That's fine and dandy, but you're mistaken. Croatia is in group C (with Spain, Ireland and Italy), while England and France are in group D (with Sweden and Ukraine).
i feel like a fool. Anyway, they still won't surpass italy and spain in that group. Thanks for point that out.
You got Modric, Perisic and Mandzukic! I believe that Croatia will win their Group and make the Semis!
3 players don't make a team and none of them are anywhere near players like Ronaldo, Messi or Drogba (a few years ago). And Modric plays like crap for nation team. Last time he played well was last Euro.
And if you need to put a name forward mention Jelavic, he is killing currently in Everton. Still more then half the team are not regulars in their teams and our defending line is either old or crap.
I truly don't see Croatia coming out of the group, and neither do other people from my country. This Euro will be the least visited big competition by fans from Croatia.
This Croatia is not the same one that demolished England and Germany in 2008 and through bad luck managed to lose to Turkey.
If anyone is a betting man don't bet on Croatia, I am giving you an inside tip atm.
Well we will see and you have obv more inside prob than others, but just from the players, croatia should be pretty good. Modric, Mandzukic, Olic, Lovin. Srna, Corluka are all international class players.
On May 04 2012 00:00 Kenpark wrote: Well we will see and you have obv more inside prob than others, but just from the players, croatia should be pretty good. Modric, Mandzukic, Olic, Lovin. Srna, Corluka are all international class players.
Spain is the team to beat, so I would put them a little bit ahead of the rest, but especially Netherlands, Italy or Germany will have a shot at doing so. Portugal is a bit overrated in my opinion. They finished second in the last two qualifiers (WC and EC) behind Denmark, so it wouldn't be a total suprise if they finished last in the group after Netherland, Germany and Denmark. I would rate Poland maybe as B, just because they have 3 strong players from Dortmund with Piszczek, Lewandowski and Blaszczykowski and they looked quite ok in the friendly vs us. Plus they have homecourt advantage. Englands team just doesn't look scary at the moment, especially with Wilshere out and Rooney missing the first two games. I think they really need to rebuild and maybe they will be more of a factor in the coming WC. Other than that I mostly agree with you.
Where did all this enthusiasm for Italy come from? Oh I do hope they do ok, mostly because Pirlo is just absolute class. But have a look at their possible players - not enough variation there really, can't actually name an Italian top level winger myself - Maggio maybe.
On May 04 2012 01:05 Surrealistic wrote: Where did all this enthusiasm for Italy come from? Oh I do hope they do ok, mostly because Pirlo is just absolute class. But have a look at their possible players - not enough variation there really, can't actually name an Italian top level winger myself - Maggio maybe.
Meh, wingers are overrated. In 2006 they only had Camoranesi.
Lets make some write ups btw, so we all get to know the teams a bit better. I would like to know some of the weaker sides at least.
The notable players are categorised by their line of play.
Greece
Keepers
This time round we aren't in the possession of a world class keeper like Nikopolidis was. •Tzorvas -29 years old- of Palermo though is solid. He won't save us from defeat alone, but he can help along.
Defense
So, Greece's main strengh is once again its defense. This generation is blessed with some extremely talented backs and stoppers.
• V.Torosidis -26 years old- (right/left back-def/mid) of Olympiakos. He's very fast, very strong, has a good header and can score like a mothafucka(video)+ Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgiQEKwoKxM
. His name has being linked quite a few times with big clubs and I'm very surprised and happy he's still in Greece. A high caliber back. • A.Papadopoulos -27 years old- (stopper) of Olympiakos. Strong, tall, fast( not agile though). He's the natural successor of Dellas from the team of 2004. He's someone you can depend on with the task of marking a high profile player and pull through it. • S.Papastathopoulos -23 years old- (stopper) of Werder Bremen. Athletic, smart, knows how to play the ball down his field as well. He's the one who had the biggest breakthrough so far in his career, with a jump to Milan 2 years ago, in which he didn't manage to take a starters jersey and thus he left. He's the most technically gifted full stopper I've seen coming from Greece and his marking is also remarcable(nice pun lol). He will most probably be bought by Juventus this summer. •K.Papadopoulos -20 years old- (stopper, def/mid) of Shalke. He's like Hulk. Just look at his body, and he has being like that since I first show him on Olympiakos, while he was only 14 years old. The young prodigy is like a natural disaster set upon the unfortunate attackers of the enemy team. His short passing is solid, and he's capable of 70 meters long crosses with accuracy. This one will be a world class player in a couple of years, many expectations from him this summer.
Midfield
This is by far our weakest line unfortunately. We still have Karagounis and Katsouranis from the old squad, but they are kinda bad now, too old. These are their last appearances though so I hope they will put their heart into it. The only really notable player is : •G.Fetfatzidis -21 years old- (att mid, winger) of Olympiakos. Greece hasn't be lucky with such a promising talent for the last 15 years. He's short, fast, dribbles with ease, and he's a lefty. He got a Messi vibe in him, albeit without the goalscoring ability.( I hope he won't be afraid to ask the ball from his seasoned teammates and step up to a leading position. Video. + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qvkSc42-qo
Offense
Our offense is better than the 2004 squad. Aside from the 2 competent veterans Lyberopoulos and Salpiggidis, the 2 starters are : •G.Samaras - 27 years old- ( att mid, forward) of Celtic. Although he can score given the chance, he's most important cause he can hold the ball and make the game. He has excellent technique for his height and he's the man who creates chances for the centre forward. •T.Gekas -31 years old- (centre forward) of Samsunspor. He is beyond his best years in Bundesliga where he had many good seasons with solid 20's, but he remains a prolific scorer. We won't make many chances for goal, but the few we will, he has the ability to turn them into gold.
All in all, we once come again armed up to the teeth. We won't play pretty, we won't play fast, but we will play solid and calm. In raw talent and ability this team is better to the 2004 but that doesn't mean much. I expect to get out of our group and be eliminated right after.
Ok, guys go make some presentations for your countries as well. Especially the weaker ones, which we don't know much about.
In EURO 2008 Netherlands was in death group with WC2006 finalists and destroyed them BOTH! I think it will be the same this year but as always they'll fail in later phases of tournament!
My money is on SPAIN. Best defense, midfield and attack. Let's not forget best goalkeeper!
OP is updated with Tier list from aseq and Greece team detailed information by Steveling. Would be lovely if people can present their team in this thread so others can have a better understand at your national team thus make discussion so much more fun and informative.
I like the idea of writing summaries about our teams lineup.
the Netherlands
Goalkeepers
Maarten Stekelenburg, 29 years old, AS Roma. Successor of Edwin van der Sar (one of the greatest goalkeepers Holland has had) and has already proven himself that he can save Holland from losing points. He's tall (1,97m), strong and has decent reflexes. Imo one of the top keepers in the world (top 5) normally (this season it's somewhat bad compared to before though).
Defense
This is Hollands biggest weakness and this could cost us the Euro Cup if you compare to the other top class countries participating.
John Heitinga, 29 years old, defender of Everton. He's the only one in our defense that has played a reasonable season compared to the others.
Joris Mathijsen, 32 years old, defender of Malaga CF. He's really old and not our best defender. Compared to the last generations he's one of our weakest central defenders we've had in Holland. Very slow and afaik hasn't been playing much for Malaga.
Erik Pieters, 23 years old, left back of PSV. He's supposedly our best defender on the left back but he's injured now. This is our biggest weakness in the defense. He's slow, loses his duels a lot and makes poor decisions. He's only here because there is no one better.
Gregory van der Wiel, 24 years old, right back of Ajax. He's Hollands best right back and most talented players. His defending isn't bad but it isn't that strong either. He attacks from the flanks a lot and he does it really well like Dani Alves for Barcelona. He's fast, agile and can give decent passes. The combination with Robben will definitely make this one of our stronger sides on the right.
Midfield
This is where it starts for Holland
Rafael van der Vaart, 29 years old, Tottenham Hotspurs. He's one of our top players in the team and a world class player but is still sitting on our bench because there are better players on his position which is the left half. His strong points are his insight, positioning and his deadly passes and also quite agile in the tight spaces. His weak point is that he's slow, gets injured a lot and most of all his condition isn't strong as he can't play a full game normally.
Mark van Bommel, 35 years old, AC Milan. I think he's our oldest player in the team but still such a world class defensive mid fielder. He's strong, not too bad on the speed but most of all he's cunning. He plays extremely cunning mind games and physical tricks on his opponents. He plays the referee to get more leeway for making fouls. One of the running engines of our team and in the last World Cup as well.
Nigel de Jong, 27 years old, Manchester City. With Mark van Bommel he'll be the defensive block on the midfield stopping all attacks. He's reasonably fast, strong and his defensive skills are good as well. He makes a lot of fouls that terrifies his opponents and in some way he doesn't get punished heavily for it imo. If you don't watch out he'll break your legs and smiles with it. He's Holland's B.A. Baraccus. Weak points are his intelligence as he makes bad decisions most of the times and he gets emotional quite fast. So getting him out of his rhythm is done quickly.
Ibrahim Affelay, 26 years old, Barcelona. One of Hollands biggest talents. He usually plays left half/left forward striker depending on the lineup. He's fast, has good passes, strong on the ball but is very easy to get injured. He has been missing almost the entire season for Barcelona but hopefully he'll be in shape for the Euro Cup because he can make a difference. There aren't any major weak points in his play as he helps defending and his offense is really good and doesn't lose the ball that much.
Wesley Sneijder, 27 years old, Internazionale. Offensive central midfielder. He has been playing quite bad current season and hasn't been in top shape. Normally when he's in shape he's one of the best players in the world. His strong points are his passes, he is dual legged and has a powerful shot. Weak point is that he's small so he isn't strong in the air.
Dirk Kuyt, 32 years old, Liverpool FC. Right half of Holland. Not much to say about him. He's a runner and he probably runs the most of the team. He helps defending a lot and when our right back van der Wiel is attacking he's usually defending. He usually has the preference over Arjen Robben by our coach (crazy isn't it?) on the right half position.
Arjen Robben, 28 years old, Bayern Munchen. Right half of Holland. He's one of our top3 players in the team and is left legged. World class player as he can beat almost any player when it's 1v1 if he's in shape. Currently he isn't in his best shape from what I've seen so far. His strong points are his speed, his precise shots and his ability to pass multiple opponents. His weak points is that he's usually injured, not strong and his defensive skills are bad.
Offense
Here comes probably the 2 most in form strikers on the planet that Holland luckily has in 1 team But our coach will probably not use these 2 together in 1 team as there's only 1 spot for a striker.
Robin van Persie, 28 years old, Arsenal. Forward striker of Holland and recently crowned Player of the year in the EPL. Not our strongest striker in the team but the better player overall for Holland. He's fast, has strong shots, good passes, strong on the ball, agile too much to name tbh His weak point? Well the only weak point I would say is that he doesn't score much for Holland :/ He is not our best striker for Holland and hopefully he can repeat what he did for Arsenal at the Euro Cup.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 28 years old, Schalke 04. Forward striker of Holland and a bench sitter because we have Robin. He's a real goalgetter and currently the number one striker in Germany. He's reasonably fast, decent shots, decent passes pretty much decent on all but 1 thing. He's the best when it comes to positioning in front of the goal. He's on the right place on the right time almost every time for Holland. One of Hollands most scoring striker and it's crazy that he's sitting on our bench. His weak point is that compared to RVP he's the worse player in overall player skills and which is the reason he's never in the starting lineup when RVP can play.
That's it for Hollands notable lineup. Don't think I've forgotten anyone on Holland at least no one notable that's going to play.
Manuel Neuer, 26 years old, FC Bayern Munich I would consent with some people who call him the best goal keeper in the world. At least he is in the top five.
Defense
If there is a weakness in Germany's national team, it could be the defense.
Jerome Boateng, 23 years old, defender of FC Bayern Munich. Boateng's main position is center back, but he can also play full back, which supposedly will be his role in the upcoming EURO.
Holger Badstuber, 23 years old, defender of FC Bayern Munich. Holger Badstuber has played a total of 49 games for Bayern Munich this season and has been one of the club’s most consistent players.
Mats Hummels, 23 years old, defender of Borussia Dortmund. Hummels's performances this season displayed great quality in tackling, positioning, and composure. He has attracted praise from pundits and coaches alike, and he is considered one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga, and in Europe, even if he couldn't hold up his form in the CL.
Philipp Lahm, 28 years old, full back of FC Bayern Munich. Lahm is considered one of the best full backs in the world, and was included in the World Cup team of the tournament in 2006 and 2010, the UEFA Team of the Tournament in 2008 and in the FIFA Team of the Year 2008. He is one of the "oldies" in Germanys national team, and also the captain of the team.
Midfield
I consider Germany's midfield at least on par with Spain's. It is really potent.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, 27 years old, FC Bayern Munich. He is Germanys leader and a world class player but is still trying to recover from some recent injuries. He is still not up to his usual form.
Sami Khedira, 25 years old, Real Madrid. He is considered a dynamic midfielder with great aerial ability who can cover a lot of ground, recover the ball and quickly join in the team attack with his powerful mid-range shooting and heading ability. The fact that he forms the defensive midfield of Madrid together with Xabi Alonso should speak for it self.
Mesut Özil, 23 years old, Real Madrid. Özil is acclaimed for his finesse and improvisation as an attacking midfielder. His style and knack for providing assists for his team-mates has been compared to that of Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane, even if he lacks the finishing ability. In 2011, he ranked second in assists in La Liga with 17, and first in major European competitions with 25.
Toni Kroos, 22 years old, FC Bayern Munich. Central midfielder. Five years ago, Toni Kroos was the best player in the world in his age group. Kroos’ technique and playmaking vision is impeccable. This season he has vastly improved his his ball-retention and decision-making skills.
Thomas Müller, 22 years old, FC Bayern Munich. Müller plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles - as an attacking midfielder, second striker, and on either wing. He has been praised for his pace, technique and composure. He was named as the Best Young Player of the 2010 World Cup and won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, with five goals and three assists.
Offense
Lukas Podolski, 26 years old, 1. FC Köln (going to Arsenal). Podolski is a left footed attacker known for his strong shot, technique and probing attacks from the left side. The 2011–12 season was the final season in his second spell for Köln. Despite the team's relegation to the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga, Podolski impressively scored 18 goals in 29 league Fußball-Bundesliga appearances.
Mario Gomez, 26 years old, FC Bayern Munich. Gomez can shoot with both feet, and is considered to be a moderate aerial threat. His best ability however remains as his anticipation to crosses and passes and finish them. Arsène Wenger described him as "a great finisher who is often in the right place to finish off moves." Moreover, his body balance and ability to hold up the ball often creates trouble for defenders.
Miroslav Klose, 33 years old, SS Lazio. Klose has played 113 times and scored 63 goals for Germany. With five goals, he was the top scorer and Golden Boot winner at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup, all of which were headers. He scored four times in 2010 World Cup, giving him a total of 14 World Cup goals. During the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Klose has scored at least one goal in every single game he played, striking against all of Germanys opponents. In his first season for Lazio he scored 12 goals in 27 games.
@ znag: Thx for the contribution and effort, but I think that three players are missing, which could play an important role for Germany at the EURO. I hope you don´t mind that I add them:
Marcel Schmelzer, 24 years old, Borussia Dortmund. Schmelzer is the left full back of the yellow-black starting squad. He is solid in defense, but very inconsistent in offense (ranges from great to horrible). He had a great former season at Dortmund, but couldn´t hold up the level this season. He is often seen as the weak link in the club as well the national team. This has more to do with the strength of his colleagues than his own weakness, though. The reason, why he could become important is the fact, that he is the only real full back in the team next to Lahm and if Löw wants to play Lahm on his stronger position (right full back), Schmelzer will probably start. Marco Reus, 23 years old, Borussia M´gladbach (going to Borussia Dortmund). He was together with Frank Ribery the best midfielder in the Bundesliga this season. He is very dynamic, fast and has really good finishing and passing abilities (21 goals and 14 assists in all competitions this season). Can also play on the striker position. He will probably be one of the first choices to come from the bench to create danger.
Mario Götze, 19 years old, Borussia Dortmund. The greatest German talent at the moment. Despite his young age, Götze plays a very intelligent and selfless style. He has extraordinary technical and dribbling abilities, but looks rather for the deadly pass than to show off and try the solo. He is relatively small, but isn´t fragile and has good speed. Can shoot very well with both feets, which allows him to play any position in the offensive midfield (wings and playmaker) on a very high level. He was injured for quite some time recently and is slowly getting back in form. If he can get back into full shape, he will be the substitute No. 1 for Germanys midfield. That alone tells a lot about the quality of Germanys midfield.
Wojciech Szczęsny, 22 years old, Arsenal London A son of Maciej Szczęsny (quite successful Polish goalkeeper in 90s), Szczesny is considered one of the biggest upcoming talents in European football. At least his boss gives him full credit in Arsenal.
Defense
Poland will most probably have trouble with this formation; only two players here are good enough to compete with the best.
Lukasz Piszczek, 26 years old, Borussia Dortmund Used to be a striker in his infant years, but after being moved to right back, he became truly classy player. Recent rumours say that Jose Mourinho considers him as a candidate to play in Real Madrid.
Damien Perquis, 28 years old, FC Sochaux A French emigree, Perquis kept his Polish citizenship and became a vital link in Poland's defensive lines. Recently injuried (broken hand), he shall recover just in time for Euro. His weakness is rather poor knowledge of our language, but skillwise, he looked very well in friendlies.
Marcin Wasilewski, 32 years old, RSC Anderlecht Tall, strong, ripped guy who never gives up, no matter if his target is the ball, or the opponent. Two years ago, Wasilewski recovered from terrible, terrible damage (broken leg) and came back playing as a full back of our team. He is solid, but a little slow player; has good bodycheck, though.
Jakub Wawrzyniak, 29 years old, Legia Warszawa Sort of average league player; tries to participate in the offense but also makes a lot of mistakes. Unfortunately, Poland had always problems with left back, and I guess, the trend will continue.
Midfield
Poland will most probably use five midfielders; only two of them are European-class players, though.
Jakub Błaszczykowski, 27 years old, Borussia Dortmund. Very dynamic player; has good ball control as well. Should be one of the leaders of our team. Voted the best Borussia Dortmund Player of the Year by fans in 2009. If anyone can lead Poland to at least moderate success, it's him.
Eugen Polanski, 26 years old, FSV Mainz 05. Another Polish emigree, Polanski was raised in Germany and been playing for M'gladbach, Getafe (Spain) and Mainz. Good at stealing the ball from the opponent; not so good at offense, but I guess that won't be his task anyway.
Adrian Mierzejewski, 26 years old, Trabzonspor. Accordin to his Turkey bosses, he is worth 5,25 mln Euro. Sees a lot on the field, has some good passes. Most probably he will try to create some offensive play, although he is more of a type of fighting, hard-working midfielder.
Rafał Murawski, 31 years old, Lech Poznań. Central midfielder. Murawski is quite balanced player; shows a lot of creativity but he is pretty good at defensive too. Played for a while for Rubin Kazań, but without much success. Hopefully he will bring back his litte rusty skill to help the team.
Ludovic Obraniak, 27 years old, Girondins Bordeaux. Obraniak is very consistent winger midfielder, who does best in attack. Pretty skilled at free-kicks and corners, he is one more emigree who kept Polish passport. Scored 27 goals in 3 seasons in French Ligue 1 so far. Along with Błaszczykowski, he shall be one of the team leaders.
Offense
Robert Lewandowski, 24 years old, Borussia Dortmund Skilled sniper - probably the greatest star of Polish football ATM. Lewandowski was recently elected Player of the Season in Bundesliga, he scored no less than 22 league goals in 2011/2012 season. Quite amazing player, deserves to play in a stronger league IMO.
Aside from him, Polish forwards are rather horrible, no reason to mention them.
Predictions
Considering the extreme luck in drawing, Poland has a shot at qualifying for quarterfinals. However, this, itself will be very, very hard to accomplish. Despite being a co-host of Euro, I'm a pessimistic - most probably, our team will score only one win and two losses. I only hope that we can at least take out Greece in the opening match - that is certainly a team within our range.
On May 08 2012 19:29 Sphaero wrote: Marco Reus, 23 years old, Borussia M´gladbach (going to Borussia Dortmund). He was together with Frank Ribery the best midfielder in the Bundesliga this season. He is very dynamic, fast and has really good finishing and passing abilities (21 goals and 14 assists in all competitions this season). Can also play on the striker position. He will probably be one of the first choices to come from the bench to create danger.
I agree. Sub this guy in @ 65 minutes and watch the opposition shit their pants. Especially when we're 1:0 up or something similar, this guy will create chances on the counter by the minute (together with Neuer's super quick game-opening throws).
Sweden are so bad and boring to watch, and since Premier League is the only league I watch (gunner since 10 years old!) I'll root for England once we're out.
Also since rating countries seems to be the thing in here:
On May 08 2012 19:29 Sphaero wrote: Marco Reus, 23 years old, Borussia M´gladbach (going to Borussia Dortmund). He was together with Frank Ribery the best midfielder in the Bundesliga this season. He is very dynamic, fast and has really good finishing and passing abilities (21 goals and 14 assists in all competitions this season). Can also play on the striker position. He will probably be one of the first choices to come from the bench to create danger.
I agree. Sub this guy in @ 65 minutes and watch the opposition shit their pants. Especially when we're 1:0 up or something similar, this guy will create chances on the counter by the minute (together with Neuer's super quick game-opening throws).
i completely agree, if germany struggles, löw should bring him in for podolski or müller during the second half. complete killer, very clinical goalscorer. due to götze's injury he should be no.1 substitute.
We need David Alaba to switch races. One of the most impressive newcomers this season imo. Austria's micro is not good enough, come to Germany, friend!
I'll watch as many games I can. Rooting for Germany. Hardest enemies are the Spanish. Maybe we get a shot this time. Also cannot underestimate France and the Dutch.
On May 04 2012 21:48 shannn wrote: I like the idea of writing summaries about our teams lineup.
the Netherlands
Goalkeepers
Maarten Stekelenburg, 29 years old, AS Roma. Successor of Edwin van der Sar (one of the greatest goalkeepers Holland has had) and has already proven himself that he can save Holland from losing points. He's tall (1,97m), strong and has decent reflexes. Imo one of the top keepers in the world (top 5) normally (this season it's somewhat bad compared to before though).
Defense
This is Hollands biggest weakness and this could cost us the Euro Cup if you compare to the other top class countries participating.
John Heitinga, 29 years old, defender of Everton. He's the only one in our defense that has played a reasonable season compared to the others.
Joris Mathijsen, 32 years old, defender of Malaga CF. He's really old and not our best defender. Compared to the last generations he's one of our weakest central defenders we've had in Holland. Very slow and afaik hasn't been playing much for Malaga.
Erik Pieters, 23 years old, left back of PSV. He's supposedly our best defender on the left back but he's injured now. This is our biggest weakness in the defense. He's slow, loses his duels a lot and makes poor decisions. He's only here because there is no one better.
Gregory van der Wiel, 24 years old, right back of Ajax. He's Hollands best right back and most talented players. His defending isn't bad but it isn't that strong either. He attacks from the flanks a lot and he does it really well like Dani Alves for Barcelona. He's fast, agile and can give decent passes. The combination with Robben will definitely make this one of our stronger sides on the right.
Midfield
This is where it starts for Holland
Rafael van der Vaart, 29 years old, Tottenham Hotspurs. He's one of our top players in the team and a world class player but is still sitting on our bench because there are better players on his position which is the left half. His strong points are his insight, positioning and his deadly passes and also quite agile in the tight spaces. His weak point is that he's slow, gets injured a lot and most of all his condition isn't strong as he can't play a full game normally.
Mark van Bommel, 35 years old, AC Milan. I think he's our oldest player in the team but still such a world class defensive mid fielder. He's strong, not too bad on the speed but most of all he's cunning. He plays extremely cunning mind games and physical tricks on his opponents. He plays the referee to get more leeway for making fouls. One of the running engines of our team and in the last World Cup as well.
Nigel de Jong, 27 years old, Manchester City. With Mark van Bommel he'll be the defensive block on the midfield stopping all attacks. He's reasonably fast, strong and his defensive skills are good as well. He makes a lot of fouls that terrifies his opponents and in some way he doesn't get punished heavily for it imo. If you don't watch out he'll break your legs and smiles with it. He's Holland's B.A. Baraccus. Weak points are his intelligence as he makes bad decisions most of the times and he gets emotional quite fast. So getting him out of his rhythm is done quickly.
Ibrahim Affelay, 26 years old, Barcelona. One of Hollands biggest talents. He usually plays left half/left forward striker depending on the lineup. He's fast, has good passes, strong on the ball but is very easy to get injured. He has been missing almost the entire season for Barcelona but hopefully he'll be in shape for the Euro Cup because he can make a difference. There aren't any major weak points in his play as he helps defending and his offense is really good and doesn't lose the ball that much.
Wesley Sneijder, 27 years old, Internazionale. Offensive central midfielder. He has been playing quite bad current season and hasn't been in top shape. Normally when he's in shape he's one of the best players in the world. His strong points are his passes, he is dual legged and has a powerful shot. Weak point is that he's small so he isn't strong in the air.
Dirk Kuyt, 32 years old, Liverpool FC. Right half of Holland. Not much to say about him. He's a runner and he probably runs the most of the team. He helps defending a lot and when our right back van der Wiel is attacking he's usually defending. He usually has the preference over Arjen Robben by our coach (crazy isn't it?) on the right half position.
Arjen Robben, 28 years old, Bayern Munchen. Right half of Holland. He's one of our top3 players in the team and is left legged. World class player as he can beat almost any player when it's 1v1 if he's in shape. Currently he isn't in his best shape from what I've seen so far. His strong points are his speed, his precise shots and his ability to pass multiple opponents. His weak points is that he's usually injured, not strong and his defensive skills are bad.
Offense
Here comes probably the 2 most in form strikers on the planet that Holland luckily has in 1 team But our coach will probably not use these 2 together in 1 team as there's only 1 spot for a striker.
Robin van Persie, 28 years old, Arsenal. Forward striker of Holland and recently crowned Player of the year in the EPL. Not our strongest striker in the team but the better player overall for Holland. He's fast, has strong shots, good passes, strong on the ball, agile too much to name tbh His weak point? Well the only weak point I would say is that he doesn't score much for Holland :/ He is not our best striker for Holland and hopefully he can repeat what he did for Arsenal at the Euro Cup.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 28 years old, Schalke 04. Forward striker of Holland and a bench sitter because we have Robin. He's a real goalgetter and currently the number one striker in Germany. He's reasonably fast, decent shots, decent passes pretty much decent on all but 1 thing. He's the best when it comes to positioning in front of the goal. He's on the right place on the right time almost every time for Holland. One of Hollands most scoring striker and it's crazy that he's sitting on our bench. His weak point is that compared to RVP he's the worse player in overall player skills and which is the reason he's never in the starting lineup when RVP can play.
That's it for Hollands notable lineup. Don't think I've forgotten anyone on Holland at least no one notable that's going to play.
if there any one from Netherlands decided to visit Ukraine (Kharkov,the city where all the 3 Netherland games will be hosted) i can help u with guiding across the city,also keeping in mind Portugal,German and probably Denmark fans,who also want to visit a groupmatch in Kharkov
P.S Guys it will be rly hot during the championship,cuz 2 weeks ago we already had like +40
On May 04 2012 21:48 shannn wrote: Robin van Persie, 28 years old, Arsenal. Forward striker of Holland and recently crowned Player of the year in the EPL. Not our strongest striker in the team but the better player overall for Holland. He's fast, has strong shots, good passes, strong on the ball, agile too much to name tbh His weak point? Well the only weak point I would say is that he doesn't score much for Holland :/ He is not our best striker for Holland and hopefully he can repeat what he did for Arsenal at the Euro Cup.
Robin van Persie was absolutely useless in the World Cup, I hope we will use Huntelaar instead, although Persie has performed well at Arsenal he just did nothing at all for us at the World Cup pretty much, Shann is right, while Persie is good at Arsenal, he performs subpar for Holland.
Our defense sucks, for real, the only thing we have going for us is that we have a worthy successor to Van der Sar basically, Stekelenburg saved our asses multiple times.
I am not estimating our chances high against Germany, if we advance, its 2nd in the group and not first. As for Portugal, it will be a match filled with fouls and maybe even
On May 08 2012 20:59 Kipsate wrote: Robin van Persie was absolutely useless in the World Cup, I hope we will use Huntelaar instead, although Persie has performed well at Arsenal he just did nothing at all for us at the World Cup pretty much, Shann is right, while Persie is good at Arsenal, he performs subpar for Holland.
Our defense sucks, for real, the only thing we have going for us is that we have a worthy successor to Van der Sar basically, Stekelenburg saved our asses multiple times.
I am not estimating our chances high against Germany, if we advance, its 2nd in the group and not first. As for Portugal, it will be a match filled with fouls and maybe even
I didn't mind the fouls in the game back in 2006, I just didn't enjoy the Dutch players trying to hurt Ronaldo as a way to stop him.
A good player is a good player no matter what team he plays in. A bunch of good players don't make a good team. It was v.Marwijk's fault for speculating 100% on individual qualities of Snijder and Robben. There was no position play or organized midfield. The 2 defending midfielders had to stay behind the ball always. And we also didn't have wingers as Kuyt and vdVaart and whoever he positioned there couldn't make it. Sneijder had to cover the whole midfield himself. When he got the ball he could only give it to Robben. Only way for v.Persie to get involved in the play was to drop out of the striker position and play on no.10. But when he does that, Sneijder gets mad since he wants the no.10 himself.
Maybe v.Persie doesn't know how to play in a 4-3-3 system. Maybe he does. But the way the Netherlands played on the WC will kill any striker. No matter if he is Huntelaar, vPersie, or a past times Kluivert or v.Nistelrooy. You either need a distance covering midfielders that walk a lot without the ball to close the distance on the midfield and that gets near the striker position. Or you need two win players that will actually cross the ball to v.Persie/Huntelaar and give them the oppertunity to score. The Netherlands currently has neither.
When there is a turnover, v Bommel and de Jong will keep haning right before the defensive center, thinking about what could happen when they lose possession again. Sure, they do a fine job at capturing the ball and giving it to Sneijder. Sneijder will move into the ball and claim it for himself when the defense captures the ball. Then we have a huge huge cap between our striker and the rest of our team and one true winger. They play with only 2 full attacking players and 6 purely defensive field players. It will kill any striker.
Huntelaar has done quite well stats wise in the national team though. But he clearly isn't doing better because he is a better player. V.Marwijk has to change his ways and fix his past mistakes. But he is too stubborn to admit he made mistakes. He thinks that because he beat Slovenia, an unusually weak and poor playing Brasil and Uruguay he had the team playing excellent. But on the WC they would have struggled against England and Argentinia and they would have lost vs Germany and theye did lose vs Spain. Only Spain has better players than the Netherlands. So I don't think v.Marwijk is getting anywhere near the potential he has looking at the skills of the players.
I also beleive that if they didn't have de Jong suspended vs Uruguay and if de Zeeuw didnt get injured, v.Marwijk could have lost with his 2 super defensive midfielders. He had to bring vdVaart on the pitch and that won the game. Otherwise, the Netherlands might have lost vs football dwarf Uruguay who missed many of their best players.
@Miyo Yeah but we only have those 2 defensive blocks because of our defense. It would be suicide if we didn't have them. Our defense is at it's weakest since generations if you look at the past names that stood there. Offense has never been our problem but last few years our defense is becoming the biggest obstacle. It's going to be a miracle for us defending against any of the top countries and basically any other average offensive against our defense.
On May 08 2012 21:25 Miyoshino wrote: A good player is a good player no matter what team he plays in. A bunch of good players don't make a good team. It was v.Marwijk's fault for speculating 100% on individual qualities of Snijder and Robben. There was no position play or organized midfield. The 2 defending midfielders had to stay behind the ball always. And we also didn't have wingers as Kuyt and vdVaart and whoever he positioned there couldn't make it. Sneijder had to cover the whole midfield himself. When he got the ball he could only give it to Robben. Only way for v.Persie to get involved in the play was to drop out of the striker position and play on no.10. But when he does that, Sneijder gets mad since he wants the no.10 himself.
Maybe v.Persie doesn't know how to play in a 4-3-3 system. Maybe he does. But the way the Netherlands played on the WC will kill any striker. No matter if he is Huntelaar, vPersie, or a past times Kluivert or v.Nistelrooy. You either need a distance covering midfielders that walk a lot without the ball to close the distance on the midfield and that gets near the striker position. Or you need two win players that will actually cross the ball to v.Persie/Huntelaar and give them the oppertunity to score. The Netherlands currently has neither.
When there is a turnover, v Bommel and de Jong will keep haning right before the defensive center, thinking about what could happen when they lose possession again. Sure, they do a fine job at capturing the ball and giving it to Sneijder. Sneijder will move into the ball and claim it for himself when the defense captures the ball. Then we have a huge huge cap between our striker and the rest of our team and one true winger. They play with only 2 full attacking players and 6 purely defensive field players. It will kill any striker.
Huntelaar has done quite well stats wise in the national team though. But he clearly isn't doing better because he is a better player. V.Marwijk has to change his ways and fix his past mistakes. But he is too stubborn to admit he made mistakes. He thinks that because he beat Slovenia, an unusually weak and poor playing Brasil and Uruguay he had the team playing excellent. But on the WC they would have struggled against England and Argentinia and they would have lost vs Germany and theye did lose vs Spain. Only Spain has better players than the Netherlands. So I don't think v.Marwijk is getting anywhere near the potential he has looking at the skills of the players.
I also beleive that if they didn't have de Jong suspended vs Uruguay and if de Zeeuw didnt get injured, v.Marwijk could have lost with his 2 super defensive midfielders. He had to bring vdVaart on the pitch and that won the game. Otherwise, the Netherlands might have lost vs football dwarf Uruguay who missed many of their best players.
Arsenal have played a 4-3-3 the whole season, but the way arsenal plays involves RvP a LOT in the play. I'm not sure you can get that kind of play going in a national team (unless you're team spain aka barcelona).
On May 08 2012 22:03 shannn wrote: @Miyo Yeah but we only have those 2 defensive blocks because of our defense. It would be suicide if we didn't have them. Our defense is at it's weakest since generations if you look at the past names that stood there. Offense has never been our problem but last few years our defense is becoming the biggest obstacle. It's going to be a miracle for us defending against any of the top countries and basically any other average offensive against our defense.
How are Matthijssen and Heitinga so much worse than what other teams field? Is Puyol really that good? And Lucio? Is Pepe that good? Is Mertesacker that good? I really like Pique though. And those are some big names. What did England play next to Terry last WC? Upson? And sure Terry in his prine was really good. But is he still that good right now? There are a ton of strong teams that don't play with 2 defensive players. They all have better central defenders?
A lot of central defenders are just very big, fast an athletic. Their actual football skills are often very limited. One can only say that Matthijssen and Heitinga aren't very complimentary in that respect.
And it's not just playing with a backward v on the midfield that is the problem. The problem is that they play old fashioned static midfield. In modern football you need box to box midfielders. Both the defending midfielders actually have the skill to join the attacking line. But they aren't allowed to do so. Look at Germany's midfield the last WC. Their central defenders were arguably a bit worse. Look at how modern their midfield played. It completely dominated both Argentinia and England. Yet the Dutch squad struggled every match at the WC vs easier opponents. The Germans played without a purely defensive midfielder. It doesn't matter if they are a V or reserve V on paper. When there is space to go attack, all 3 midfielders need to take the oppertunity and use the space when it is given to them. That's a modern dynamic midfield.
V.Marwijk plays with 2 defensive midfielders even vs San Marino. It really has nothing to do with defense being weak.
In the finals they made basically nothing happen. Yes, they almost scored and won because of Robben and because of Puyol's mistake. But they didn't. I guess Spain also needs to play with 2 super conservative vacuum cleaners. They almost lost becaus they didn't, right?
Barcelona played with Mascherano large parts of the season. He isn't even a central defender. And Puyol is slow. They also don't have any length in their entire team except for Pique. Doesn't seem to be a problem for them. And sometimes they play without Busquets.
Now maybe the problem is that Sneijder just refuses to defend. On a modern midfield you need to both defend and attack with all midfielders. V.Marwijk doesn't seem to be the person that can convince Sneijder that he needs to do that. Fine. Then he just has to play with inferior tactics. Then their play will be less attractive and they will be less succesful. Maybe he should bench Sneijder like how v.Basten benched v.Bommel. Seems to have sovled the problem with v.Bommel completely, to put it in understatements.
On May 08 2012 22:03 shannn wrote: @Miyo Yeah but we only have those 2 defensive blocks because of our defense. It would be suicide if we didn't have them. Our defense is at it's weakest since generations if you look at the past names that stood there. Offense has never been our problem but last few years our defense is becoming the biggest obstacle. It's going to be a miracle for us defending against any of the top countries and basically any other average offensive against our defense.
How are Matthijssen and Heitinga so much worse than what other team fields? Is Puyol really that good? And Lucio? Is Pepe that good? Is Mertesacker that good? I really like Pique though. And those are some big names. What did England play next to Terry last WC? Upson? And sure Terry in his prine was really good. But is he still that good right now? There are a ton of strong teams that don't play with 2 defensive players. They all have better central defenders?
Ferdinand would've played next to Terry, but was injured last time iirc, and Englands back 4 looks stronger than ever even if Terry gets banned due to the scandals. Lescott, Cahill, Smalling, Jones, Jagielka and then Terry+Ferdinand is a crazy good depth of central defenders.
@miyo From all the ones you mentioned, yes they are better. They're faster and stronger and their football skills aren't that limited and are atleast on par with Hollands defenders. So what do we have then? A defense that's slower, weaker with equal football skills.
I'd agree that playing with 2 defensive static midfielders is really going overboard and old fashioned. I was merely giving such a statement because of our defense. He's basically making a block for insurance so he doesn't have to worry much about them which is stupid against tbh.
I'd definitely want to see Holland play more modern with a dynamic midfield. Yes v. Bommel and de Jong can play offensive but like you said. Sneijder either refuses to defend (probably) or can't defend and either way we still end up with the problem of the 2 static defensive midfielders. Benching Sneijder will never happen by v. Marwijk.
My preference is to put VDV on 10 because at least he defends but doesn't have the stamina to keep up whole game. And he's been playing more than Sneijder has for Inter.
Puyol and Terry can't play with space behind them and they are slow. Lucio and Mertesacker have limited football skills. Pepe is crazy and you never know when he will get a red card. The Netherlands certainly hasn't got the best defenders. But it is mostly lack of depth.
None of them have the pass Heitinga has. He can cross as well as F. de Boer.
On May 09 2012 00:03 Miyoshino wrote: Puyol and Terry can't play with space behind them and they are slow. Lucio and Mertesacker have limited football skills. Pepe is crazy and you never know when he will get a red card. The Netherlands certainly hasn't got the best defenders. But it is mostly lack of depth.
None of them have the pass Heitinga has. He can cross as well as F. de Boer.
The thing with some of the worlds best defenders is that they don't actually need the speed. They have perfect game sense and positioning to make up for that. Terry plays fine with a lot of space behind him in what might be the quickest league in the world.
Netherlands or Germany to take it all is my prediction, the german team in the last WC was very young but oh boy did they play well before they completely botched it v s Spain, no idea what they were doing that game. Because before it they played some insane and enjoyable games.
Sweden, in my heart though has per usual no chance to win it all. But i think we stand a decent chance to get out of our group atleast. Ukraine should be a win, France aswell and England we normally do well against so, one can hope! I have a far far faaar expectation of maybe a bronze! One can dream:D It all boils down to if Ibrahimovic plays well or not, per the usual hes pretty bad in the national team, but he has his moments. Only cause i can think of is that the team is never tailored around him like it should be(very swedish to not focus on any one individual) and that the rest of the team is just too bad to play well with him, he never gets the balls he should etc.
Any swede that is updated on our team? Is Anders Svensson STILL playing over Källström? That has to be the biggest error our team has made championship after championship. A world class player on the bench and the one in his place on the field has some subpar years in a low ranked PL club as his biggest accomplishment.
On May 08 2012 20:59 Kipsate wrote: Robin van Persie was absolutely useless in the World Cup, I hope we will use Huntelaar instead, although Persie has performed well at Arsenal he just did nothing at all for us at the World Cup pretty much, Shann is right, while Persie is good at Arsenal, he performs subpar for Holland.
Our defense sucks, for real, the only thing we have going for us is that we have a worthy successor to Van der Sar basically, Stekelenburg saved our asses multiple times.
I am not estimating our chances high against Germany, if we advance, its 2nd in the group and not first. As for Portugal, it will be a match filled with fouls and maybe even
as i remember during world cup, he just returned from a lengthy injury. In fact, he has never played the entire season for Arsenal without injury which fortunately is this year. Thus, the obvious choice for the Dutch is to play him up front.
This is also assuming that somebody is gonna pass the ball to him, not taking it by himself all the way like Robben being too selfish at times. Putting Kuyt in will help v.persie a lot from the previous international games
And of course go Netherlands! Squad i would say slighlty weaker compare to the world cup squad but still has the potential to win it
as for winning, i like to back holland or germany. if i do it on vc i get my money back if spain wins it and everyone else is too fucking terrible to do so
Any englishman that care to update me on how the media situation is in England regarding their team? I find it hilarious that every year for the passt 10 years or so the English press goes "THIS YEAR WE WILL WIN IT ALL! SICKEST TEAM EVER!" and England bombs massively and plays like a draw and two losses.
A bit of an enigma the english team, always sick on paper but just... performs like crap in the actual championship, why is this?
On May 09 2012 02:21 unkkz wrote: Any englishman that care to update me on how the media situation is in England regarding their team?
it depends on the media tbqh. the sensible media realise we're crap, the more idiotic media are too busy hoping to god that aging scumbags* will pull us through the group and then hype us to the roof until we lose in the quarter final on penalties. while praying that players' birds will be about wearing not much
On May 09 2012 02:21 unkkz wrote: Any englishman that care to update me on how the media situation is in England regarding their team? I find it hilarious that every year for the passt 10 years or so the English press goes "THIS YEAR WE WILL WIN IT ALL! SICKEST TEAM EVER!" and England bombs massively and plays like a draw and two losses.
I still cry out loud from a laughing when I recall that.
Shame that my own team sucks most of time as much as that goal XD
On May 09 2012 02:21 unkkz wrote: Any englishman that care to update me on how the media situation is in England regarding their team? I find it hilarious that every year for the passt 10 years or so the English press goes "THIS YEAR WE WILL WIN IT ALL! SICKEST TEAM EVER!" and England bombs massively and plays like a draw and two losses.
On May 09 2012 02:21 unkkz wrote: Any englishman that care to update me on how the media situation is in England regarding their team? I find it hilarious that every year for the passt 10 years or so the English press goes "THIS YEAR WE WILL WIN IT ALL! SICKEST TEAM EVER!" and England bombs massively and plays like a draw and two losses.
On May 09 2012 00:03 Miyoshino wrote: Puyol and Terry can't play with space behind them and they are slow. Lucio and Mertesacker have limited football skills. Pepe is crazy and you never know when he will get a red card. The Netherlands certainly hasn't got the best defenders. But it is mostly lack of depth.
None of them have the pass Heitinga has. He can cross as well as F. de Boer.
The thing with some of the worlds best defenders is that they don't actually need the speed. They have perfect game sense and positioning to make up for that. Terry plays fine with a lot of space behind him in what might be the quickest league in the world.
Actually, what some do is keep the field long when they should be shortening the playfield. That way there is little space behind them for the enemy to exploit anyway. But in doing so, they make it really hard for their midfield. Problem is that at many top clubs there is little tactical knowledge. This is especially true in the premier league and in the I italian league.
One not so fast center defender is fine if the other can solve the problem. It is not so much not being fast is a problem but someone said that the Dutch center defenders are slower than Terry and Lucio.
On May 09 2012 02:21 unkkz wrote: Any englishman that care to update me on how the media situation is in England regarding their team? I find it hilarious that every year for the passt 10 years or so the English press goes "THIS YEAR WE WILL WIN IT ALL! SICKEST TEAM EVER!" and England bombs massively and plays like a draw and two losses.
On May 09 2012 02:21 unkkz wrote: Any englishman that care to update me on how the media situation is in England regarding their team? I find it hilarious that every year for the passt 10 years or so the English press goes "THIS YEAR WE WILL WIN IT ALL! SICKEST TEAM EVER!" and England bombs massively and plays like a draw and two losses.
On May 09 2012 02:21 unkkz wrote: A bit of an enigma the english team, always sick on paper but just... performs like crap in the actual championship, why is this?
Almost everyone I talk to in England thinks that our team is a piece of crap that will not get past the first knockout stage. I think we will make quarters but by the world cup we should have a better team if people like sturridge oxlade chamberlain and wilshere come into their own, + we have some good/pacey players like rooney, young/ johnson, walcott/ lennon, bent, cole/ baines, richards/johnson/walker, a good keeper...we could make semis. Unfortunately our centre is looking a little bare once lampard/gerrard and parker are too old although hopefully wilshere and maybe oxlade chamberlain (if he develops into that position) can step it up. Plus lampard and gerrard don't play well together. We have defenders like Cahill, Terry, Ferdinand, Smalling, Jones to choose from. Not the worst pool.
Although all of that having been said, you touched on the most important thing. Our players are all dog shit when they put on the england shirt. It's like they forget they are good. We have consistently had one of the top 6 most impressive teams on paper going into every world cup for as long as I can remember. And we have consistently been incredibly disappointing. Oh well...three lions on the shirt and everything...hopefully this year football will come home.
My most realistic choice is Sweden. Ibra´s 8 year streak of winning the national league got broken, he needs that gold at the end of year. If not, I hope they play on a terrible pitch and some east-european team wins with some strange form of anti-football.
On May 09 2012 00:03 Miyoshino wrote: Puyol and Terry can't play with space behind them and they are slow. Lucio and Mertesacker have limited football skills. Pepe is crazy and you never know when he will get a red card. The Netherlands certainly hasn't got the best defenders. But it is mostly lack of depth.
None of them have the pass Heitinga has. He can cross as well as F. de Boer.
Lol Puyol only plays with space behind him with Barca and he can keep up with Robben (remember last WC).
Terry okay he can't really play with space behind him but he makes up for it in other areas.
Yes Netherlands doesn't have the best defenders and certainly not the worst. I was merely trying to make a point that if Netherlands were going to be taken out it's far more likely going to be some major defensive mistake rather than our offense failing because let's be honest. If you look at the other top countries their lineups are overall good in each area whereas Holland's is offensive world class but with an average defense lineup.
I just don't like Mathijssen since he doesn't bring anything to the team in his current shape. Heitinga's cross pass is a good tool and at least brings something to the team.
On May 09 2012 00:03 Miyoshino wrote: Puyol and Terry can't play with space behind them and they are slow. Lucio and Mertesacker have limited football skills. Pepe is crazy and you never know when he will get a red card. The Netherlands certainly hasn't got the best defenders. But it is mostly lack of depth.
None of them have the pass Heitinga has. He can cross as well as F. de Boer.
The thing with some of the worlds best defenders is that they don't actually need the speed. They have perfect game sense and positioning to make up for that. Terry plays fine with a lot of space behind him in what might be the quickest league in the world.
Actually, what some do is keep the field long when they should be shortening the playfield. That way there is little space behind them for the enemy to exploit anyway. But in doing so, they make it really hard for their midfield. Problem is that at many top clubs there is little tactical knowledge. This is especially true in the premier league and in the I italian league.
One not so fast center defender is fine if the other can solve the problem. It is not so much not being fast is a problem but someone said that the Dutch center defenders are slower than Terry and Lucio.
Not understanding it quite well in English but most defenders are forced to keep the field long because of wingers they're facing against. You can't shorten the playing field because then they'll just attack from the flanks and with someone fast you're giving them free space and opportunity to give a pass and a chance to shoot if possible as well.
Playing with a short playfield is fine if the opponents can't play in tight spaces but like I said above it's a double edged sword playing like this.
On May 08 2012 19:38 popzags wrote: Robert Lewandowski, 24 years old, Borussia Dortmund Skilled sniper - probably the greatest star of Polish football ATM. Lewandowski was recently elected Player of the Season in Bundesliga, he scored no less than 22 league goals in 2011/2012 season. Quite amazing player, deserves to play in a stronger league IMO.
Aside from him, Polish forwards are rather horrible, no reason to mention them.
.
stronger league? have you watched any game in Bundesliga this season? Definitely at least in top 3 of European Leagues (proved by Champions League for example) and to addition to that, I think he is not ready for another change yet. Giants from Spanish and English leagues like Real / Chelsea / MU will not buy him this year, and i can`t see any other worthy team owning our sniper.
If the ball is played deep then the center can cut off the winger before he reaches the goal or the goalkeeper will get the ball first. If not, they are doing it wrong.
It will be much harder for the opponent to make plays and get near the goal if the defenders just concede all lot of space and drop back to near their own 16. They need to push up in position to reduce the danger of what happens in a turnover. You need to keep the lines complact for both offensive and defensive reasons. You will play way stronger tactically and on the midfield if you can keep the lines compact. If not your midfield will be swimming. They can't cover the distance and there will be too many space between defending midfielder and the defensive line.
That makes germany champion! He was the only one that could score in the World Cup Semis. This year our whole team is alot better.
Don't be arrogant like the spanish.
What? Says the french one.
Flames aside, not having Carles Pujol is going to hurt our defense but lets see.
Villa is recovering from a long injury and Torres is sucking as always, we have young scorers but they are inexperienced. We will have problems to score goals, remember how many goals we scored in the last tournament...
That makes germany champion! He was the only one that could score in the World Cup Semis. This year our whole team is alot better.
Don't be arrogant like the spanish.
What? Says the french one.
Flames aside, not having Carles Pujol is going to hurt our defense but lets see.
Villa is recovering from a long injury and Torres is sucking as always, we have young scorers but they are inexperienced. We will have problems to score goals, remember how many goals we scored in the last tournament...
I can definitely see Italy getting a draw or a win against you guys with puyol out. France will take care of you in the next round muhahahaha.
That makes germany champion! He was the only one that could score in the World Cup Semis. This year our whole team is alot better.
Don't be arrogant like the spanish.
What? Says the french one.
Flames aside, not having Carles Pujol is going to hurt our defense but lets see.
Villa is recovering from a long injury and Torres is sucking as always, we have young scorers but they are inexperienced. We will have problems to score goals, remember how many goals we scored in the last tournament...
I can definitely see Italy getting a draw or a win against you guys with puyol out. France will take care of you in the next round muhahahaha.
We will see if french players don't refuse to play again :D
That makes germany champion! He was the only one that could score in the World Cup Semis. This year our whole team is alot better.
Don't be arrogant like the spanish.
What? Says the french one.
Flames aside, not having Carles Pujol is going to hurt our defense but lets see.
Villa is recovering from a long injury and Torres is sucking as always, we have young scorers but they are inexperienced. We will have problems to score goals, remember how many goals we scored in the last tournament...
I can definitely see Italy getting a draw or a win against you guys with puyol out. France will take care of you in the next round muhahahaha.
We will see if french players don't refuse to play again :D
That makes germany champion! He was the only one that could score in the World Cup Semis. This year our whole team is alot better.
Don't be arrogant like the spanish.
What? Says the french one.
Flames aside, not having Carles Pujol is going to hurt our defense but lets see.
Villa is recovering from a long injury and Torres is sucking as always, we have young scorers but they are inexperienced. We will have problems to score goals, remember how many goals we scored in the last tournament...
I can definitely see Italy getting a draw or a win against you guys with puyol out. France will take care of you in the next round muhahahaha.
We will see if french players don't refuse to play again :D
That makes germany champion! He was the only one that could score in the World Cup Semis. This year our whole team is alot better.
Don't be arrogant like the spanish.
What? Says the french one.
Flames aside, not having Carles Pujol is going to hurt our defense but lets see.
Villa is recovering from a long injury and Torres is sucking as always, we have young scorers but they are inexperienced. We will have problems to score goals, remember how many goals we scored in the last tournament...
I can definitely see Italy getting a draw or a win against you guys with puyol out. France will take care of you in the next round muhahahaha.
We will see if french players don't refuse to play again :D
On May 08 2012 19:29 Sphaero wrote: @ znag: Thx for the contribution and effort, but I think that three players are missing, which could play an important role for Germany at the EURO. I hope you don´t mind that I add them:
Marcel Schmelzer, 24 years old, Borussia Dortmund. Schmelzer is the left full back of the yellow-black starting squad. He is solid in defense, but very inconsistent in offense (ranges from great to horrible). He had a great former season at Dortmund, but couldn´t hold up the level this season. He is often seen as the weak link in the club as well the national team. This has more to do with the strength of his colleagues than his own weakness, though. The reason, why he could become important is the fact, that he is the only real full back in the team next to Lahm and if Löw wants to play Lahm on his stronger position (right full back), Schmelzer will probably start. Marco Reus, 23 years old, Borussia M´gladbach (going to Borussia Dortmund). He was together with Frank Ribery the best midfielder in the Bundesliga this season. He is very dynamic, fast and has really good finishing and passing abilities (21 goals and 14 assists in all competitions this season). Can also play on the striker position. He will probably be one of the first choices to come from the bench to create danger.
Mario Götze, 19 years old, Borussia Dortmund. The greatest German talent at the moment. Despite his young age, Götze plays a very intelligent and selfless style. He has extraordinary technical and dribbling abilities, but looks rather for the deadly pass than to show off and try the solo. He is relatively small, but isn´t fragile and has good speed. Can shoot very well with both feets, which allows him to play any position in the offensive midfield (wings and playmaker) on a very high level. He was injured for quite some time recently and is slowly getting back in form. If he can get back into full shape, he will be the substitute No. 1 for Germanys midfield. That alone tells a lot about the quality of Germanys midfield.
Thank you, these were in deed missing. I left them out, because I think neither of them will make the starting line-up (I think Boateng - Hummels - Badstuber - Lahm will be our defensive line).
I love English press around international tournaments, there a farking joke. Just read this pile of crap and you will understand why we never win anything.
On May 10 2012 00:34 Pandemona wrote: I love English press around international tournaments, there a farking joke. Just read this pile of crap and you will understand why we never win anything.
On May 10 2012 00:45 scaban84 wrote: European soccer and logo is a flower LOL
well first it's European football, second about the logo: Shaped flowers bloom with two leaves. The second leaf attached to stem the red-white-and blue-yellow. It describes the color of the flag of each host. Flowers that bloom describe the emotions and excitement of competition. Bar indicates the structural aspects of the UEFA and European football competitions.
Ukraine and Poland will co-host for Euro 2012 which is an event that was first held in Eastern Europe. EURO 2012 takes the theme 'Creating History Together'. The logo consists of several graphical elements. Flowers are blooming on either side represent the host country. Representation is emphasized through the use of the flag colors of both countries. Graphic elements of interest and ball displays depicting aspects of the human symbol of humanism tournament, joy, celebration, sportsmanship, bells and whistles.
Yeah not seeing England doing too much. Seriously hoped that the appointment of Hodgson would temper expectations, since the biggest threat to any English team of the past two decades has been the English media, inflating expectations to stupid levels then tearing apart the team for not performing as well as Brazil or Spain. Glad I don't live in England anymore to put up with that crap.
I'm actually hoping Roy has the balls to do what should be done; namely, get rid of the Old Guard. Terry, Ferdinand, Lampard etc - leave them behind. England do not have a serious chance in this tournament, so why not have the younger players get some experience in a major tournament? Wish Wilshere was fit, but I would have Parker as the captain and only player over thirty, and give the youngsters a chance. Look at Germany in the World Cup, plenty of youth that will benefit from that experience in the Euros.
Countdown to wednesday for England fans then. Mr Roy will announce his squad then, and im sure the press leading up till then will be continuing the squad story about he can only take either JT or Rio which is this is utter lunacy. Not only can they both be taken if needed, there shouldn't even be a descion to make as this season Rio has been so slow and poor it doesn't matter, JT has been the better defender. So silly! Oh well i have faith in Roy he is a good manager. solid experience too.
Abidal and Sagna would have been there if not on recovery/injured, and it seems Malouda and Kaboul suffered an injury on sunday, we'll see how it goes. The full list with Ligue1 players will be announced next week, but i can already tell we will have no international level defensive midfielders (Toulalan and Diarra from Madrid have never been called by Blanc and are already out of this list, so we'll end up with Mvila and Diarra from Marseille, really not on the required level) It will still be enough to beat England, but i dont see us going very far
Everyone is underestimating the french. They are playing killer lately, so don't count them out. And I think with how i saw spain play they are the favourites together with Germany. Netherlands and france subfavourites. Italy is probably going to fail because of their static play, makes it hard to recuperate from a loss.
<-- pretty nice football and recent. Of course a friendly .
My name is Oleksandr(Alex), Im from Kyiv, Ukraine.
If you want come to Kyiv to UEFA 2012, I can help you with accompaniment.
I have car, so I can meet you at aeroport, show the city, help with questions and follow you all your time in Kyiv. I can't help with residence. I can take no more than 4 mans.
About me. Im 29 y.o. My English not very good, but a simple things Im will understand and can say something
My name is Oleksandr(Alex), Im from Kyiv, Ukraine.
If you want come to Kyiv to UEFA 2012, I can help you with accompaniment.
I have car, so I can meet you at aeroport, show the city, help with questions and follow you all your time in Kyiv. I can't help with residence. I can take no more than 4 mans.
About me. Im 29 y.o. My English not very good, but I simple things Im will understand and can say something
My skype is : kpoisons
GL
Holy crap thats nice of you
-
Thoughts on this event -
It looks like spain should walk it, it would be interesting to see how many teams adopt a chelsea play style to counter the way "spain" as a team play
as an englishman i hate to say we don't have a chance, we will be lucky to get out the group, the english fa / managment / team is a shambles.
On May 14 2012 12:21 Sanctimonius wrote: Yeah not seeing England doing too much. Seriously hoped that the appointment of Hodgson would temper expectations, since the biggest threat to any English team of the past two decades has been the English media, inflating expectations to stupid levels then tearing apart the team for not performing as well as Brazil or Spain. Glad I don't live in England anymore to put up with that crap.
I'm actually hoping Roy has the balls to do what should be done; namely, get rid of the Old Guard. Terry, Ferdinand, Lampard etc - leave them behind. England do not have a serious chance in this tournament, so why not have the younger players get some experience in a major tournament? Wish Wilshere was fit, but I would have Parker as the captain and only player over thirty, and give the youngsters a chance. Look at Germany in the World Cup, plenty of youth that will benefit from that experience in the Euros.
While yes Loew supports young players a lot, the last WC is a bad example of that since most of his older players got injured pre-WC.
On May 14 2012 12:21 Sanctimonius wrote: Yeah not seeing England doing too much. Seriously hoped that the appointment of Hodgson would temper expectations, since the biggest threat to any English team of the past two decades has been the English media, inflating expectations to stupid levels then tearing apart the team for not performing as well as Brazil or Spain. Glad I don't live in England anymore to put up with that crap.
I'm actually hoping Roy has the balls to do what should be done; namely, get rid of the Old Guard. Terry, Ferdinand, Lampard etc - leave them behind. England do not have a serious chance in this tournament, so why not have the younger players get some experience in a major tournament? Wish Wilshere was fit, but I would have Parker as the captain and only player over thirty, and give the youngsters a chance. Look at Germany in the World Cup, plenty of youth that will benefit from that experience in the Euros.
While yes Loew supports young players a lot, the last WC is a bad example of that since most of his older players got injured pre-WC.
Aye, but it doesn't matter how it happened, Germany had a great tournament with their youth. I'm hoping England can take a leaf out of that book, but I'll bet Lampard and Gerrard will play together, Terry will be at the back and Ferdinand will go along despite having a poor season.
"Aside from Ireland vs Croatia, all other games a good to watch." LOL
I love Italian football but Ireland has great team that can run for 120 minutes easy. They are also robust, UK style at it's finest. What about Giovanni Trapattoni their coach? Young Shane Long is great FW and Robbie Keane is old pain in the ass for every team even Spain. He dosen't play this game since yesterday! They have long tradition of playing football, they are nation of football and they will give their fullest. Do you think Spain and Italy stars want it so badly? They have loads of trophy and pretty big salaries. Of course they want it, but I think "lesser" teams want it so much more!
I predict:
Croatia > Italy Croatia vs Ireland (can't predict, Irish were always very good vs our play even if we have names on paper that are better) Croatia < Spain
Ireland vs Italy - X Ireland vs Croatia (same) Ireland < Spain
Spain - Italy - X (I don't like how Italy defends vs really good technique players and Italy has lots of them (Croatia loves this, but we hate faster play remember Ecuador?) Spain > Croatia Spain > Ireland
Italy < Croatia Italy vs Spain (same) Italy vs Ireland - X
Also keep in mind that when it comes to Croatia, if we start good - then we are very dangerous, we love to play "on the wings of victory" so if someone wants to crush Croatia it will be the first game. For our nation football is sport that you live and die for so our players are aware of that, it can be positive or negative pressure. If we win then they have full backup of masses and that gives them big boost. I can't stress enough how much support means for our players, it became fanatical thing, just look at this shit:
P.S. - Putting Ukraine aside is really sad from you. Ukraine has powerful team and are host. After Shevchenko era they really play different football that can be so unorthodox that every team can fail vs them. Also they are WWDWW in last 5 friendly matches.
Hmmm that goal was lucky x3: - bounces off the defender's legs - cross wasn't good but gets headed back in - i think he meant to control the ball and hit it hard, instead it chips and flukes in. Do they plan to score like this again? I don't think matches vs Ireland or Ukraine are a walkover but you can't say they'll be favorites in a match either...but no match is a more than 75% win for any team.
On May 14 2012 20:03 norlock wrote: Everyone is underestimating the french. They are playing killer lately, so don't count them out. And I think with how i saw spain play they are the favourites together with Germany. Netherlands and france subfavourites. Italy is probably going to fail because of their static play, makes it hard to recuperate from a loss.
On May 16 2012 04:17 Intact wrote: The Swedish squad has been announced:+ Show Spoiler +
Goalkeepers: 23 Pär Hansson, Helsingborg, 2 National team appearences /0 goals. 1 Andreas Isaksson, PSV Eindhoven, 91/0. 12 Johan Wiland, FC Köpenhamn, 7/0. Defender: 15 Mikael Antonsson, Bologna, 4/0. 4 Andreas Granqvist, Genoa, 16/2. 2 Mikael Lustig, Celtic, 23/1. 3 Olof Mellberg, Olympiakos, 112/7. 13 Jonas Olsson, West Bromwich, 6/0. 5 Martin Olsson, Blackburn, 8/4. 17 Behrang Safari, Anderlecht, 23/0. Midfielders: 19 Emir Bajrami, Twente, 15/2. 6 Rasmus Elm, AZ Alkmaar, 22/1. 18 Samuel Holmén, Istanbul BB, 25/2. 9 Kim Källström, Lyon, 90/16. 7 Sebastian Larsson, Sunderland, 39/5. 8 Anders Svensson, Elfsborg, 126/18. 16 Pontus Wernbloom, CSKA Moskva, 21/2. 21 Christian Wilhelmsson, al-Hilal, 72/8. Strikers: 11 Johan Elmander, Galatasaray, 63/16. 22 Markus Rosenberg, Werder Bremen, 30/6. 14 Tobias Hysén, IFK Göteborg, 21/7. 10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Milan, 75/29. 20 Ola Toivonen, PSV Eindhoven, 22/4.
Will be interesting to see how we do. Very disappointed to see Rosenberg instead of Guidetti. Sure Guidetti is currently injured, but I thought he'd come back in time, something that is not guaranteed for Elmander. I'd rather have Guidetti as a wild card rather than an unmotivated Rosenberg. Also, we have no real good right back, which is unfortunate. Maybe Larsson will be moved down. Adding to that, Isaksson has been injured (unless I'm mistaken) and is very inconsistent. I still think we have a good chance of getting out of the group. We have a good midfield and Ibra has had a good season in Milan, so I'm hopeful. France's squad is looking pretty bad defensively and we have a good record against England (who lately choke hard at big competitions and will have to do without Rooney the first two games). Ukraine should be easy 3 points for everyone.
Also, I love the fact that a Serie B dude is in Italy's team. I bet his stock is gonna rocket up.
Verratti was always a stunner in Football Manager - it looks like life is emulating videogames here haha. That being said, the Italy team looks largely untested on an international level.
On May 16 2012 08:51 aseq wrote: Hmmm that goal was lucky x3: - bounces off the defender's legs - cross wasn't good but gets headed back in - i think he meant to control the ball and hit it hard, instead it chips and flukes in. Do they plan to score like this again? I don't think matches vs Ireland or Ukraine are a walkover but you can't say they'll be favorites in a match either...but no match is a more than 75% win for any team.
Never said it wasn't "lucky". But then again, he could only stare at the ball doing nothing. Being in right position while maintaining confidence + balance and doing precise shot is not all about luck. I would say 70% skill, 30% luck. But goal is a goal.
Cross wasn't good? Be elaborate plz.
I wouldnt say so,because if you see how he handles the ball:
He cleary uses his "outside" side of foot and that side is usually used to chip the goalkeeper. Rapaić had great cross skills and he used them in exact moment to chip the goalkeeper, he knew it was better thing in that situation then straight shoot. If you ever played football then you know what I'm talking about, that exact second, that one milisecond that you think about how to shoot a ball.
Maybe, I don't know, ball is a round thing you know.
I didn't say they are favorites, from where do you pull your facts, from your ass? ;P
btw. remember this?:
Your goal, it just shook off goalkeeper in high post and swirl like crazy. And you would tell that's luck? No, your player did good job shooting, but heh, we were better that time ;P
Dutch almost decided squad (27 players, 4 more need to be dropped):
Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Newcastle United), Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma), Michel Vorm (Swansea City)
Defence: Vurnon Anita (Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart), Wilfred Bouma (PSV), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (Málaga), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax), Jetro Willems (PSV)
Midfield: Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Siem de Jong (Ajax), Adam Maher (AZ), Stijn Schaars (Sporting Lissabon), Wesley Sneijder (Internazionale), Kevin Strootman (PSV), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur)
Attack: Ibrahim Afellay (Barcelona), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04), Luuk de Jong (FC Twente), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Jeremain Lens (PSV), Luciano Narsingh (SC Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Bayern München)
Not sure about downing or defo, what about crouch? hes been good this season
it baffles me how England mangers always ignore lower league / premiership teams.. Not that keen on our midfield with players like rooney and carrol crossing will be a big part of our game.. so we have..
barry who passes backwards downing who cant pass at all gerrard who is good but rarely gets crosses in, lampard - same (both more central players parker who is a defensive midfielder milner never plays young cant cross for shit (as a man utd fan i know this) walcot can never cross decent.. oxc.. ? not sure
oh well maybe in 2 years time we will have an ok team :D
Foster (WBA) Keeper is not chosen due to turning down Hodgson's plea to come out of retirement to go with the squad
Parker (Totenham) Is said to be 90% certain to miss out on the entire tournament with his injury he has got/picked up end of the season. So it looks like Gerrard and Hart are battling it out to be England captain (as JT can't due to this court case over his head)
Henderson (Liverpool) is set to replace Parker if indeed Parker cannont make the Euro trip.
England vs Norway - May 26th England vs Belgium - June 2nd Are England's only 2 games before the tournament begins in Ukraine, will be interesting to see what Hodgson can do with such little time.
On May 16 2012 22:02 GTR wrote: Disappointed to see Grant Holt not included on the list, he had a pretty good PL season, 2nd Englishman behind Rooney for goals this season.
Im more dissapointed that youngster from Celtic didn't get a look in. Hooper, scored 5 goals last game of the season and 29 in total. Looks a decent shot, and he is a proud Englishman. I would of had him atleast on back up list
Stand By List Jack Butland (Birmingham) Phil Jagielka (Everton) Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) Adam Johnson (Man City) Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)
First of all, how fuck Downing > Sturridge this season :S Other than that im fine with it, be interesting who gets armband!
well Ruddy is a suprise but still hart will play unless somethign happens anyway. Suprised by Ferdinands ommission but still... cant have both him and Terry in squad. Jones is in because he is versatile.
Downing is shit... really suprised he is in there...Also suprised both barry and Milner are there... Chamberlain I like but he doesnt even get in the Arsenal team constantly. I would of picked Johnson over Downing.
Carroll over Crouch was one or the other both unique in the air! Suprised Sturridge isnt there eithier.
Anyway looking at this squad over past squads.. one of the worst EVER, probably this eyar that England go far haha.
On May 16 2012 21:58 Pandemona wrote: More light on the subject.
Foster (WBA) Keeper is not chosen due to turning down Hodgson's plea to come out of retirement to go with the squad
Parker (Totenham) Is said to be 90% certain to miss out on the entire tournament with his injury he has got/picked up end of the season. So it looks like Gerrard and Hart are battling it out to be England captain (as JT can't due to this court case over his head)
Henderson (Liverpool) is set to replace Parker if indeed Parker cannont make the Euro trip.
England vs Norway - May 26th England vs Belgium - June 2nd Are England's only 2 games before the tournament begins in Ukraine, will be interesting to see what Hodgson can do with such little time.
On May 16 2012 22:02 GTR wrote: Disappointed to see Grant Holt not included on the list, he had a pretty good PL season, 2nd Englishman behind Rooney for goals this season.
Im more dissapointed that youngster from Celtic didn't get a look in. Hooper, scored 5 goals last game of the season and 29 in total. Looks a decent shot, and he is a proud Englishman. I would of had him atleast on back up list
scottish football is shit, sorry. Who was top scorer the other season Boyd? he joined a championship side and couldnt deliver.. always been the case!!! Scoring goals in scottish football is equilvant probably to scoringn in championship..
On May 16 2012 21:58 Pandemona wrote: More light on the subject.
Foster (WBA) Keeper is not chosen due to turning down Hodgson's plea to come out of retirement to go with the squad
Parker (Totenham) Is said to be 90% certain to miss out on the entire tournament with his injury he has got/picked up end of the season. So it looks like Gerrard and Hart are battling it out to be England captain (as JT can't due to this court case over his head)
Henderson (Liverpool) is set to replace Parker if indeed Parker cannont make the Euro trip.
England vs Norway - May 26th England vs Belgium - June 2nd Are England's only 2 games before the tournament begins in Ukraine, will be interesting to see what Hodgson can do with such little time.
On May 16 2012 22:02 GTR wrote: Disappointed to see Grant Holt not included on the list, he had a pretty good PL season, 2nd Englishman behind Rooney for goals this season.
Im more dissapointed that youngster from Celtic didn't get a look in. Hooper, scored 5 goals last game of the season and 29 in total. Looks a decent shot, and he is a proud Englishman. I would of had him atleast on back up list
scottish football is shit, sorry. Who was top scorer the other season Boyd? he joined a championship side and couldnt deliver.. always been the case!!! Scoring goals in scottish football is equilvant probably to scoringn in championship..
Jelavic......was better than RVP on goals per game ratio ^_^ came from Scottish league doing the same thing he doing there that is here now. Hooper was 23 goals for side in League one, went to Celtic first season 29 goals injured for 4-5 games as well. I think he worth a shout imo, he should get picked up by lower prem team this year too, or high end championship
On May 16 2012 21:58 Pandemona wrote: More light on the subject.
Foster (WBA) Keeper is not chosen due to turning down Hodgson's plea to come out of retirement to go with the squad
Parker (Totenham) Is said to be 90% certain to miss out on the entire tournament with his injury he has got/picked up end of the season. So it looks like Gerrard and Hart are battling it out to be England captain (as JT can't due to this court case over his head)
Henderson (Liverpool) is set to replace Parker if indeed Parker cannont make the Euro trip.
England vs Norway - May 26th England vs Belgium - June 2nd Are England's only 2 games before the tournament begins in Ukraine, will be interesting to see what Hodgson can do with such little time.
On May 16 2012 22:02 GTR wrote: Disappointed to see Grant Holt not included on the list, he had a pretty good PL season, 2nd Englishman behind Rooney for goals this season.
Im more dissapointed that youngster from Celtic didn't get a look in. Hooper, scored 5 goals last game of the season and 29 in total. Looks a decent shot, and he is a proud Englishman. I would of had him atleast on back up list
scottish football is shit, sorry. Who was top scorer the other season Boyd? he joined a championship side and couldnt deliver.. always been the case!!! Scoring goals in scottish football is equilvant probably to scoringn in championship..
Jelavic......was better than RVP on goals per game ratio ^_^ came from Scottish league doing the same thing he doing there that is here now. Hooper was 23 goals for side in League one, went to Celtic first season 29 goals injured for 4-5 games as well. I think he worth a shout imo, he should get picked up by lower prem team this year too, or high end championship
Chris Sutton also turned into a goal machine in Scotland means nothing. Jelavic if he does the same again next season then ill be impressed! but overall players never make the step up, and its nice you mentiona foreign player! As slightly different to a british player, if an British player moves to scotland its because hes after the money.
Yes i know the SPL is a farce of a league, i know that. But theres a goal scorer and then theres a goal scorer!! Jelavic looked ordinarly average in the rangers and SPL team, when he came to Everton he looked brilliant, pretty sure this Hooper can do the same. He was playing League 1 football (division 3) and was offered a contract by an SPL club playing in champions league, anyone with a brain would of took that. Now after his first season he scored 29 goals won the golden boot in the SPL and looks good and is English. I just think before you waste caps on players over 28/29 who havent got much years left internationally due to travelling and only 5-6 games a year there is no reason why you cant bring in young hungary 23 year olds who are hungary and keen, and also lets be honest no one since micheal owen has scored regularly as an England striker!
Cannot believe Richards and Adam Johnson aren't going, or that Downing, Carroll and Glen Johnson are. Hell, over the year Holt has been much better than Carroll, but he's not at one of the teams we choose from so there's never any chance in him going.
Cannot believe Richards and Adam Johnson aren't going, or that Downing, Carroll and Glen Johnson are. Hell, over the year Holt has been much better than Carroll, but he's not at one of the teams we choose from so there's never any chance in him going.
At least we can set our expectations low! We will be lucky to win a game this time.. if we somehow get out the group stage then its a success imo
Spain without Puyol (injured). Im not very confident in the Spain Defence... Despite his age, Puyol has a security and dedication that nobody more in Spain has..
Cannot believe Richards and Adam Johnson aren't going, or that Downing, Carroll and Glen Johnson are. Hell, over the year Holt has been much better than Carroll, but he's not at one of the teams we choose from so there's never any chance in him going.
At least we can set our expectations low! We will be lucky to win a game this time.. if we somehow get out the group stage then its a success imo
Lol no we will finish 2nd in our group pretty comfertably, even if they play shit we will finish 2nd. Ukraine and Sweden winable games for England, we beat Sweden with a weaken team for the first time at wembley beginging of the year? So im confident we can beat them, especially considering Hodgson knows everything about Swedish football anyway. Then Ukraine game will be trickier due to them being at home but i fancy us to knick that 1 or 2-0 specially with it being Rooney's first game. France is the tricky one as we haven't beaten them since 1980s Euro was it i think, and in Euro 2000 we took the lead with a youngish solid team through Lampard but for Zidane to pop up and score a freekick and a penalty (whilst vommiting) so i expect us to get out of our group which is the minimun you would expect, then for where we go from there is straight home if we finish second. As Group D play Group C in knock out rounds.
Group C 1st Spain 2nd Italy (you would think unless Ireland or Croatia pull off crazy upsets) So England lose to France and finish 2nd they set up a game vs Spain in the last 8, they beat France they set up a game with Italy...I know which team id rather face! Be interesting if Spain would be a bit cautious of playing England after the Barca vs Chelsea match! Specially because im sure Hodgson would set them out to play pretty much the same vs them!
Why is everyone expecting goals from Downing? He has made like 25 goals in his 11 year career, I'm pretty sure that's not why he is in any team. He took 720 shots in last seasons premier league without scoring -.-
If Hodgson tells him to play proper and just pass the ball to someone else he might be useful. From what I know about Hodgson he usually does not concern himself with what happens on the oppositions half. England can expect only as many goals as Defoe and Rooney can make on their own, I say 5 in the whole tournament.
On May 14 2012 12:03 Holgerius wrote: Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), De Sanctis (Napoli), Sirigu (Paris St. Germain), Viviano (Palermo). Defenders: D Abate (Milan), Astori (Cagliari), Balzaretti (Palermo), Barzagli (Juventus) Bocchetti (Rubin Kazan), Bonucci (Juventus), Chiellini (Juventus), Criscito (Zenit St Petersburg), Maggio (Napoli), Ogbonna (Torino), Ranocchia (Inter); Midfielders: Cigarini (Atalanta), De Rossi (Roma), Diamanti (Bologna), Giaccherini (Juventus), Marchisio (Juventus), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Paris St. Germain), Nocerino (Milan), Pirlo (Juventus),Schelotto (Atalanta), Verratti (Pescara); Strikers: Balotelli (Manchester City), Borini (Roma), Cassano (Milan), Destro (Siena), Di Natale (Udinese), Giovinco (Parma)
As much as I want to be optimistic, this is one of the worst italian squads I've seen. =/
Buffon(De Sanctis) Abate/ Juve back 2/ Maggio Montolivo/Marchisio/Pirlo/ Someone
Looks good IMHO, probably not the best attacking team I'd agree on that. Maybe if they give Balotelli a sanity pill and get one or two of the older fellas to give their best we can expect a good result. Pretty funny how there is only one Inter guy and 3 Milan guys now.
Cannot believe Richards and Adam Johnson aren't going, or that Downing, Carroll and Glen Johnson are. Hell, over the year Holt has been much better than Carroll, but he's not at one of the teams we choose from so there's never any chance in him going.
At least we can set our expectations low! We will be lucky to win a game this time.. if we somehow get out the group stage then its a success imo
Lol no we will finish 2nd in our group pretty comfertably, even if they play shit we will finish 2nd. Ukraine and Sweden winable games for England, we beat Sweden with a weaken team for the first time at wembley beginging of the year? So im confident we can beat them, especially considering Hodgson knows everything about Swedish football anyway. Then Ukraine game will be trickier due to them being at home but i fancy us to knick that 1 or 2-0 specially with it being Rooney's first game. France is the tricky one as we haven't beaten them since 1980s Euro was it i think, and in Euro 2000 we took the lead with a youngish solid team through Lampard but for Zidane to pop up and score a freekick and a penalty (whilst vommiting) so i expect us to get out of our group which is the minimun you would expect, then for where we go from there is straight home if we finish second. As Group D play Group C in knock out rounds.
Group C 1st Spain 2nd Italy (you would think unless Ireland or Croatia pull off crazy upsets) So England lose to France and finish 2nd they set up a game vs Spain in the last 8, they beat France they set up a game with Italy...I know which team id rather face! Be interesting if Spain would be a bit cautious of playing England after the Barca vs Chelsea match! Specially because im sure Hodgson would set them out to play pretty much the same vs them!
You clearly didn't read my 2 posts in this thread. Croatia is not upset, and Ireland would be so much more less upset then anything. I don't like how people underestimate some countries and they know for good that we are not bad neither are Irish. It's just biased you must look at the facts and I gave them in previous posts.
I will be here when you see that Spain will not have easy time (Italy will not have easy time for sure, I think they will not go trough group stage). Italy never won against Croatia. We are constantly on the top of the football and handball elites and you have no right to put us down so low. Yeah, in fact basically you have that right of opinion but it's unrealistic. Irony is that we have longer football tradition then Spain and somewhat same as Italians as Czech were first to play ball in these regions.
And again you all forgetting about Ukraine, what a shame, they will destroy someone and everyone will be jaws open like it's surprise. This is not friendly games, every country has it's own bad and good sides, it's football not StarCraft, big names don't play the best, team play the best. And for Ukraine team to lose in front of their slavic people it's shame, I don't know for anglosaxons but if Croatia doesn't pass group stage our nation will lynch them. Think about that, we are still pretty much barbaric people.
Cannot believe Richards and Adam Johnson aren't going, or that Downing, Carroll and Glen Johnson are. Hell, over the year Holt has been much better than Carroll, but he's not at one of the teams we choose from so there's never any chance in him going.
At least we can set our expectations low! We will be lucky to win a game this time.. if we somehow get out the group stage then its a success imo
Lol no we will finish 2nd in our group pretty comfertably, even if they play shit we will finish 2nd. Ukraine and Sweden winable games for England, we beat Sweden with a weaken team for the first time at wembley beginging of the year? So im confident we can beat them, especially considering Hodgson knows everything about Swedish football anyway. Then Ukraine game will be trickier due to them being at home but i fancy us to knick that 1 or 2-0 specially with it being Rooney's first game. France is the tricky one as we haven't beaten them since 1980s Euro was it i think, and in Euro 2000 we took the lead with a youngish solid team through Lampard but for Zidane to pop up and score a freekick and a penalty (whilst vommiting) so i expect us to get out of our group which is the minimun you would expect, then for where we go from there is straight home if we finish second. As Group D play Group C in knock out rounds.
Group C 1st Spain 2nd Italy (you would think unless Ireland or Croatia pull off crazy upsets) So England lose to France and finish 2nd they set up a game vs Spain in the last 8, they beat France they set up a game with Italy...I know which team id rather face! Be interesting if Spain would be a bit cautious of playing England after the Barca vs Chelsea match! Specially because im sure Hodgson would set them out to play pretty much the same vs them!
You clearly didn't read my 2 posts in this thread. Croatia is not upset, and Ireland would be so much more less upset then anything. I don't like how people underestimate some countries and they know for good that we are not bad neither are Irish. It's just biased you must look at the facts and I gave them in previous posts.
I will be here when you see that Spain will not have easy time (Italy will not have easy time for sure, I think they will not go trough group stage). Italy never won against Croatia. We are constantly on the top of the football and handball elites and you have no right to put us down so low. Yeah, in fact basically you have that right of opinion but it's unrealistic. Irony is that we have longer football tradition then Spain and somewhat same as Italians as Czech were first to play ball in these regions.
And again you all forgetting about Ukraine, what a shame, they will destroy someone and everyone will be jaws open like it's surprise. This is not friendly games, every country has it's own bad and good sides, it's football not StarCraft, big names don't play the best, team play the best. And for Ukraine team to lose in front of their slavic people it's shame, I don't know for anglosaxons but if Croatia doesn't pass group stage our nation will lynch them. Think about that, we are still pretty much barbaric people.
LOL wow! Yes you said it yourself this is not StarCraft your upsets of Croatia beating Spain and Italy along with Ireland doing the same is not going to happen. If Spain turn up and play the way they do they walk this group easily, there football is great at international level, keeping theb all away is perfect and they have the players to score for fun as you should know if you follow football. When Spain lose at the moment or even draw it is deemed a shock, and teams can't just defend well against them and expect to cause them problems, many teams have tried that and failed. Italy are always interesting to watch they didn't have a good world cup but still managed to get out of there group and do themselves a bit of justice, and now they have a younger squad which quite a bit of potential so they should be thought of as possible elimination down to Croatia and Ireland. I think your if anything over estimating your nations chances in these games, i understand this is football and anything can happen at some points in time as theres lots of facts to be bought up in appliance with that statement, but the last Euros and the last World Cup there is no chance of Croatia or Ireland playing up the level to give Spain a problem defensively, however im pretty sure both of your teams will be hard to break down and none would ever get beat 3 or more goals to 0 but im confident Spain will not concede much either. The Croatia team in itself is a nice average team with a big star in Modric, but one player will not win you the tournament or Portugal and Argentina would be favorites for every world cup at this moment in time but there not. Group C is the most predictable group i would say 2nd best to Group D. Group A and B are hard to call and there is potential upsets in these two. Also on your previous results you can't put yourself up any higher than you have down in hope and expectations. You were well beaten by Sweden Drew your home leg 0-0 to Turkey in the previous game which was the 2nd leg of play off's after winning 3-0 away from home. Then your other wins have come against Isreal Georgia Malta Lativa who you should be beating right? Then you drew 0-0 vs Ireland who you have in this group and loses to Greece and Sweden over the last year and you think you will be able to give Spain a game? Even if they don't have Puyol or a fit Villa? I wont even bother arguing the reasons Italy wont lose but im sure deep down you must know the Italians are no mugs at the back and they have some brilliant young strikers they have picked. So again you still think Croatia and Ireland have a chance at 1st and 2nd place in the groups?
Cannot believe Richards and Adam Johnson aren't going, or that Downing, Carroll and Glen Johnson are. Hell, over the year Holt has been much better than Carroll, but he's not at one of the teams we choose from so there's never any chance in him going.
At least we can set our expectations low! We will be lucky to win a game this time.. if we somehow get out the group stage then its a success imo
Lol no we will finish 2nd in our group pretty comfertably, even if they play shit we will finish 2nd. Ukraine and Sweden winable games for England, we beat Sweden with a weaken team for the first time at wembley beginging of the year? So im confident we can beat them, especially considering Hodgson knows everything about Swedish football anyway. Then Ukraine game will be trickier due to them being at home but i fancy us to knick that 1 or 2-0 specially with it being Rooney's first game. France is the tricky one as we haven't beaten them since 1980s Euro was it i think, and in Euro 2000 we took the lead with a youngish solid team through Lampard but for Zidane to pop up and score a freekick and a penalty (whilst vommiting) so i expect us to get out of our group which is the minimun you would expect, then for where we go from there is straight home if we finish second. As Group D play Group C in knock out rounds.
Group C 1st Spain 2nd Italy (you would think unless Ireland or Croatia pull off crazy upsets) So England lose to France and finish 2nd they set up a game vs Spain in the last 8, they beat France they set up a game with Italy...I know which team id rather face! Be interesting if Spain would be a bit cautious of playing England after the Barca vs Chelsea match! Specially because im sure Hodgson would set them out to play pretty much the same vs them!
You clearly didn't read my 2 posts in this thread. Croatia is not upset, and Ireland would be so much more less upset then anything. I don't like how people underestimate some countries and they know for good that we are not bad neither are Irish. It's just biased you must look at the facts and I gave them in previous posts.
I will be here when you see that Spain will not have easy time (Italy will not have easy time for sure, I think they will not go trough group stage). Italy never won against Croatia. We are constantly on the top of the football and handball elites and you have no right to put us down so low. Yeah, in fact basically you have that right of opinion but it's unrealistic. Irony is that we have longer football tradition then Spain and somewhat same as Italians as Czech were first to play ball in these regions.
And again you all forgetting about Ukraine, what a shame, they will destroy someone and everyone will be jaws open like it's surprise. This is not friendly games, every country has it's own bad and good sides, it's football not StarCraft, big names don't play the best, team play the best. And for Ukraine team to lose in front of their slavic people it's shame, I don't know for anglosaxons but if Croatia doesn't pass group stage our nation will lynch them. Think about that, we are still pretty much barbaric people.
LOL wow! Yes you said it yourself this is not StarCraft your upsets of Croatia beating Spain and Italy along with Ireland doing the same is not going to happen. If Spain turn up and play the way they do they walk this group easily, there football is great at international level, keeping theb all away is perfect and they have the players to score for fun as you should know if you follow football. When Spain lose at the moment or even draw it is deemed a shock, and teams can't just defend well against them and expect to cause them problems, many teams have tried that and failed. Italy are always interesting to watch they didn't have a good world cup but still managed to get out of there group and do themselves a bit of justice, and now they have a younger squad which quite a bit of potential so they should be thought of as possible elimination down to Croatia and Ireland. I think your if anything over estimating your nations chances in these games, i understand this is football and anything can happen at some points in time as theres lots of facts to be bought up in appliance with that statement, but the last Euros and the last World Cup there is no chance of Croatia or Ireland playing up the level to give Spain a problem defensively, however im pretty sure both of your teams will be hard to break down and none would ever get beat 3 or more goals to 0 but im confident Spain will not concede much either. The Croatia team in itself is a nice average team with a big star in Modric, but one player will not win you the tournament or Portugal and Argentina would be favorites for every world cup at this moment in time but there not. Group C is the most predictable group i would say 2nd best to Group D. Group A and B are hard to call and there is potential upsets in these two. Also on your previous results you can't put yourself up any higher than you have down in hope and expectations. You were well beaten by Sweden Drew your home leg 0-0 to Turkey in the previous game which was the 2nd leg of play off's after winning 3-0 away from home. Then your other wins have come against Isreal Georgia Malta Lativa who you should be beating right? Then you drew 0-0 vs Ireland who you have in this group and loses to Greece and Sweden over the last year and you think you will be able to give Spain a game? Even if they don't have Puyol or a fit Villa? I wont even bother arguing the reasons Italy wont lose but im sure deep down you must know the Italians are no mugs at the back and they have some brilliant young strikers they have picked. So again you still think Croatia and Ireland have a chance at 1st and 2nd place in the groups?
You didn't read my post. I give Spain and Italy all the props they need. But there are facts that prove that they are not invincible. Not even that, I would say that Spain is not invincible but they are clearly a favorite team but Italian team is no better on paper then Croatian team. As you know - they never won vs Croatia and I think our team will keep it that way. It depends on first game, if Croatia wins then hell brakes lose. If Croatia lose first game it may as well go all under and Ireland > Croatia in that scenario.
Of course I think, I'm not biased, I gave everyone a ups and downs, and you are giving me examples of friendly games that has no sense man. You are just seeing name of nation not the team. We will see what will future bring.
btw. I think Germany wins it all. And saying Modrić is our only "star" is also nonsense you cleary don't know our other players that are really great (Olić, Srna etc.)
Cannot believe Richards and Adam Johnson aren't going, or that Downing, Carroll and Glen Johnson are. Hell, over the year Holt has been much better than Carroll, but he's not at one of the teams we choose from so there's never any chance in him going.
At least we can set our expectations low! We will be lucky to win a game this time.. if we somehow get out the group stage then its a success imo
Lol no we will finish 2nd in our group pretty comfertably, even if they play shit we will finish 2nd. Ukraine and Sweden winable games for England, we beat Sweden with a weaken team for the first time at wembley beginging of the year? So im confident we can beat them, especially considering Hodgson knows everything about Swedish football anyway. Then Ukraine game will be trickier due to them being at home but i fancy us to knick that 1 or 2-0 specially with it being Rooney's first game. France is the tricky one as we haven't beaten them since 1980s Euro was it i think, and in Euro 2000 we took the lead with a youngish solid team through Lampard but for Zidane to pop up and score a freekick and a penalty (whilst vommiting) so i expect us to get out of our group which is the minimun you would expect, then for where we go from there is straight home if we finish second. As Group D play Group C in knock out rounds.
Group C 1st Spain 2nd Italy (you would think unless Ireland or Croatia pull off crazy upsets) So England lose to France and finish 2nd they set up a game vs Spain in the last 8, they beat France they set up a game with Italy...I know which team id rather face! Be interesting if Spain would be a bit cautious of playing England after the Barca vs Chelsea match! Specially because im sure Hodgson would set them out to play pretty much the same vs them!
You clearly didn't read my 2 posts in this thread. Croatia is not upset, and Ireland would be so much more less upset then anything. I don't like how people underestimate some countries and they know for good that we are not bad neither are Irish. It's just biased you must look at the facts and I gave them in previous posts.
I will be here when you see that Spain will not have easy time (Italy will not have easy time for sure, I think they will not go trough group stage). Italy never won against Croatia. We are constantly on the top of the football and handball elites and you have no right to put us down so low. Yeah, in fact basically you have that right of opinion but it's unrealistic. Irony is that we have longer football tradition then Spain and somewhat same as Italians as Czech were first to play ball in these regions.
And again you all forgetting about Ukraine, what a shame, they will destroy someone and everyone will be jaws open like it's surprise. This is not friendly games, every country has it's own bad and good sides, it's football not StarCraft, big names don't play the best, team play the best. And for Ukraine team to lose in front of their slavic people it's shame, I don't know for anglosaxons but if Croatia doesn't pass group stage our nation will lynch them. Think about that, we are still pretty much barbaric people.
LOL wow! Yes you said it yourself this is not StarCraft your upsets of Croatia beating Spain and Italy along with Ireland doing the same is not going to happen. If Spain turn up and play the way they do they walk this group easily, there football is great at international level, keeping theb all away is perfect and they have the players to score for fun as you should know if you follow football. When Spain lose at the moment or even draw it is deemed a shock, and teams can't just defend well against them and expect to cause them problems, many teams have tried that and failed. Italy are always interesting to watch they didn't have a good world cup but still managed to get out of there group and do themselves a bit of justice, and now they have a younger squad which quite a bit of potential so they should be thought of as possible elimination down to Croatia and Ireland. I think your if anything over estimating your nations chances in these games, i understand this is football and anything can happen at some points in time as theres lots of facts to be bought up in appliance with that statement, but the last Euros and the last World Cup there is no chance of Croatia or Ireland playing up the level to give Spain a problem defensively, however im pretty sure both of your teams will be hard to break down and none would ever get beat 3 or more goals to 0 but im confident Spain will not concede much either. The Croatia team in itself is a nice average team with a big star in Modric, but one player will not win you the tournament or Portugal and Argentina would be favorites for every world cup at this moment in time but there not. Group C is the most predictable group i would say 2nd best to Group D. Group A and B are hard to call and there is potential upsets in these two. Also on your previous results you can't put yourself up any higher than you have down in hope and expectations. You were well beaten by Sweden Drew your home leg 0-0 to Turkey in the previous game which was the 2nd leg of play off's after winning 3-0 away from home. Then your other wins have come against Isreal Georgia Malta Lativa who you should be beating right? Then you drew 0-0 vs Ireland who you have in this group and loses to Greece and Sweden over the last year and you think you will be able to give Spain a game? Even if they don't have Puyol or a fit Villa? I wont even bother arguing the reasons Italy wont lose but im sure deep down you must know the Italians are no mugs at the back and they have some brilliant young strikers they have picked. So again you still think Croatia and Ireland have a chance at 1st and 2nd place in the groups?
You didn't read my post. I give Spain and Italy all the props they need. But there are facts that prove that they are not invicible. Not even that, I would say that Spain is not invicible but they are clearly a favorite team but Italian team is no better on paper then Croatian team. As you know - they never won vs Croatia and I think our team will keep it that way. It depends on first game, if Croatia wins then hell brakes lose. If Croatia lose first game it may as well go all under and Ireland > Croatia in that scenario.
Of course I think, I'm not biased, I gave everyone a ups and downs, and you are giving me examples of friendly games that has no sense man. You are just seeing name of nation not the team. We will see what will future bring.
Dude in the last year your team like every other European team have played only one or two competitive fixtures yours were vs teams you would expect to beat. The friendlies are there to prepare your team for up and coming comeptitive fixtures, reason if any team doesn't take friendlies with a certain level of seriousness will not do well at all. I remember the best thing about Capello management that he did this was all his friendlies thus we went up in the rankings more than we have done before. But anyway back to the point, if you don't count friendlies are fixtures then you have to back to the qualifying stages of the Euro championships? Which in your whole group over the qualification you lost 2 games one away to Greece and the other away to Georgia? And on that basis of that easy group in terms of footballing nations and ranks you still think you can have a strong performance? Drawing 0-0 at home to Greece losing 2-0 to Greece and 1-0 to Georgia? I mean England had an easy group and we made a mess of it a big mess, but we still finished top of it and yet we have no chance of winning our group or in your case getting out of our group in the Euros? Anyway i don't mind your opinion your entitled to it and i do agree that its not a foregone conclusion you are going to lose to Spain and Italy but what you have to accept is that you have about a 20% chance of finished 2nd in your group let alone 1st. If i where you id be banking on beating or making priority number 1 beating Ireland and making sure you do not LOSE to Spain and Italy and getting Draws vs them and hoping other results go your way. For example, you play Spain last, and they might have already qualified by then so you could quite easily defend that game out for a draw vs a Spanish team probably shuffling a few players in to keep there team fresh. Id be looking at it that way.
Friendlies are there to try out new stuff. Most of the time we played like with B team or players that don't have chance to prove themselves. That's a fact and only thing for our team - to experiment. Maybe England like to win every friendly game and boost it's ego but Croatia don't. That's preference of each manager, won't go into that much.
You are looking at specific games too much, everyone loses. Remember when we won vs you in heart of England? Then you came back and won - one game doesen't meant shit.
What do you mean England doesen't have a chance to go trough group? Didn't understand that. You got strong team and you can come second easy. I think you will win vs France to finally brake that "curse", it's right time to do it, and vs Sweden you will probably go X. When it comes to Ukraine I think you will have trouble, I would say 40% win rest is X (or slightly percent for Ukraine to fly with their supporters and win it). English style is great for that group, if you went in our group you would be dead but in your group you are favorite (and we would be dead in your group because we can't play good vs France and Sweden).
Again I'm telling you - Spain is great. They will probably be in finals. But Italy is same as Croatia, they are not so good. They are not team from 4 years ago and they have verrrry ugly record vs us and they don't like slavic style of football (long pass with defenders holding back wings and one playmaker that buzzes in front of their goal + fast players that are all around good like Srna). Italy imho has no chance at all, I know for sure they can win like vs 80% of teams but we are so hard for them, its psychological thing also.
As I said, Ireland will be pain for us, we always had hard time vs them and they have will of steel and we don't like that teams. We love when we are underestimated because someone think that 4 milion people country can't do shit (even if we are one of greatest Euro sport nation ever and thats not bias).
Yeah lets agree that we wish both teams good luck sounds like a plan. Im hoping for another team do a Russia again though get to semi final was it ? or last 8 playing good football etc nice to watch.
Russia in Euro 2008 played amazing throughout the tournament losing to eventual champions Spain after going 1-0 up with great counter attacking play, they were a delight to watch with Pavlychenko Arshavin unde Hiddink as manager.
I thought you said in a previous post you don't see England going through into knock out rounds in a previous post but after reading your following posts i see you did not say that so it does not matter
Italy are going to beat Spain to top spot? I doubt that, can see them finishing second yest but not 1st ahead of Spain. Depends what France team turns up to this years competition, like England they have strugled in previous cup competitions, nothing is certain, but of course France favorites
On May 17 2012 22:56 Pandemona wrote: Yeah lets agree that we wish both teams good luck sounds like a plan. Im hoping for another team do a Russia again though get to semi final was it ? or last 8 playing good football etc nice to watch.
On May 17 2012 22:56 Pandemona wrote: Yeah lets agree that we wish both teams good luck sounds like a plan. Im hoping for another team do a Russia again though get to semi final was it ? or last 8 playing good football etc nice to watch.
On May 18 2012 06:38 sixfour wrote: acquired panini album. adios money
Oh dear! I had major OCD with them i had to stop buying them when i was a kid. Took me like 20minutes to stick 6 stickers in as would have to get perfectly in the lines xD Good luck though! Might be worth something if England do well xD
On May 17 2012 23:24 Pandemona wrote: Russia in Euro 2008 played amazing throughout the tournament losing to eventual champions Spain after going 1-0 up with great counter attacking play...
Russia never lead against Spain They lost 4-1 in group game and lost 3-0 in semi.
Ricardo Costa (Valencia) Rolando (Porto) João Pereira (Sporting Portugal) Miguel Lopes (Braga) Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid) Pepe (Real Madrid) Bruno Alves (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Midfielders:
Ruben Micael (Zaragoza) Carlos Martins (Granada) Miguel Veloso (Genova) João Moutinho (Porto) Raul Meireles (Chelsea) Custódio (Braga) Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas) Varela (Porto) Nani (Manchester United) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Strikers
Nélson Oliveira (Benfica) Hugo Almeida (Besiktas) Hélder Postiga (Zaragoza)
The players on bold are the most likely starting line up in a classic 4 3 3 formation, altough i would trade Helder Postiga for Nelson Oliveira on the starting line-up. The First team is quite strong, but we're the underdogs in our group to Netherlands and Germany
Ricardo Costa (Valencia) Rolando (Porto) João Pereira (Sporting Portugal) Miguel Lopes (Braga) Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid) Pepe (Real Madrid) Bruno Alves (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Midfielders:
Ruben Micael (Zaragoza) Carlos Martins (Granada) Miguel Veloso (Genova) João Moutinho (Porto) Raul Meireles (Chelsea) Custódio (Braga) Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas) Varela (Porto) Nani (Manchester United) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Strikers
Nélson Oliveira (Benfica) Hugo Almeida (Besiktas) Hélder Postiga (Zaragoza)
The players on bold are the most likely starting line up in a classic 4 3 3 formation, altough i would trade Helder Postiga for Nelson Oliveira on the starting line-up. The First team is quite strong, but we're the underdogs in our group to Netherlands and Germany
On May 23 2012 16:47 Kipsate wrote: wait what happened to villa
Broke his leg maybe? xD
He's been injured since like the world cup or something, although they were hoping he would recover for euros.
Close, the Club world cup in Japan in Decemeber so im guessing he is ready to start training now, but to be out for 5-6 months and to go into Euros is a bit much to ask no? Be the reason he is excluded.
Anyone else up for doing a TL league? Could add bit of extra banter between all us fans?
I'd join up for that
how does it work anyway?
Should be able to sign up from the link somewhere to sign in. You pick yourself a squad of 15 for 100million. Then for every Matchday game (Matchday 1-2-3/last8/semi final/3rd4th place/final) you change 1 player (Transfer) for free, and you can change your starting 11 every matchday aswell. So if spain were vs italy and you had Italian defenders you can sub those out and put in say your English defender because they were playing an easier opponent and would probabl concede less than Italy thus making you more points. Points for - Scoring goals/Not conedeing goals/Assists/Playing full game or half game/Whoever is captain gets double points/Saves made/Turnovers in possesion (ie defensive midfielder breaking up play). Lose points for Yellow cards/goals conceded/Red cards/Missed Penaltys. I will need to make a league which i will do over the next few days and post the link on how to join it, but at the moment UEFA have failed with a few players missing so my team is not complete as of yet. Oh also the worst thing is you can only select 2 players from each team (2from spain 2from germany etcetc)
Aight guys, I took the liberty of creating a league (Team Liquid EURO). To join: Press the "Leagues" button -> Join private league -> Copy and paste "107395-25188", and then you should find it.
Here's my team: Come at me, bros.
The "max two from same national team" rule is pretty annoying.
Ricardo Costa (Valencia) Rolando (Porto) João Pereira (Sporting Portugal) Miguel Lopes (Braga) Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid) Pepe (Real Madrid) Bruno Alves (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Midfielders:
Ruben Micael (Zaragoza) Carlos Martins (Granada) Miguel Veloso (Genova) João Moutinho (Porto) Raul Meireles (Chelsea) Custódio (Braga) Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas) Varela (Porto) Nani (Manchester United) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Strikers
Nélson Oliveira (Benfica) Hugo Almeida (Besiktas) Hélder Postiga (Zaragoza)
The players on bold are the most likely starting line up in a classic 4 3 3 formation, altough i would trade Helder Postiga for Nelson Oliveira on the starting line-up. The First team is quite strong, but we're the underdogs in our group to Netherlands and Germany
Carlos Martins ahead of Veloso?
For me it's a no brainer... But i don't like Veloso very much... i Think he's slow, and has a slow mind... The better players for the job was a player that wasn't even called by the coach... Hugo Viana from Braga, seconded by Manuel Fernandes from Besiktas... Carlos martins is only the 3rd best for that position... And Veloso is not suited for a nr.10 position.. maybe instead of Moutinho... But moutinho is so much better than veloso that it isn't even funny.
On May 23 2012 21:26 NuclearJudas wrote: Aight guys, I took the liberty of creating a league (Team Liquid EURO). To join: Press the "Leagues" button -> Join private league -> Copy and paste "107395-25188", and then you should find it.
The "max two from same national team" rule is pretty annoying.
Haha good job mate! I'll join with my team now, it needs changing though! As id like to try fit Carroll in there instead of Elmander probably but stupid UEFA not got him on it yet.
Ricardo Costa (Valencia) Rolando (Porto) João Pereira (Sporting Portugal) Miguel Lopes (Braga) Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid) Pepe (Real Madrid) Bruno Alves (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Midfielders:
Ruben Micael (Zaragoza) Carlos Martins (Granada) Miguel Veloso (Genova) João Moutinho (Porto) Raul Meireles (Chelsea) Custódio (Braga) Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas) Varela (Porto) Nani (Manchester United) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Strikers
Nélson Oliveira (Benfica) Hugo Almeida (Besiktas) Hélder Postiga (Zaragoza)
The players on bold are the most likely starting line up in a classic 4 3 3 formation, altough i would trade Helder Postiga for Nelson Oliveira on the starting line-up. The First team is quite strong, but we're the underdogs in our group to Netherlands and Germany
Carlos Martins ahead of Veloso?
For me it's a no brainer... But i don't like Veloso very much... i Think he's slow, and has a slow mind... The better players for the job was a player that wasn't even called by the coach... Hugo Viana from Braga, seconded by Manuel Fernandes from Besiktas... Carlos martins is only the 3rd best for that position... And Veloso is not suited for a nr.10 position.. maybe instead of Moutinho... But moutinho is so much better than veloso that it isn't even funny.
Wow Spain lost two out of their top3 players, that must hurt.
My Spanish Top3: Villa (for converting the chances Spanish midfield creates) Casillas (has saved them so many times, especially WC2010) Puyol (Heart of the team/defense)
While losing Iniesta, Xavi would hurt of course, I am sure Mata, Xabi Alonso, Fabregas, etc. could all replace them. But they lost their goal scoring machine.
Haha. And yeah i agree, reason i picked Jelavic is just plainly due to the form he is in, and well he has a change to bag a few goals for Croatia. I wanted to find some players from Group A to put in as i think that group is the most open group, but internationally is hardly many goals, and bloody Ledonwski (cant spell it) is like 8million or something daft.
Yeah i thought picking Portugese/German players was a bit silly but nothing else i could of done xD Ronaldo surely will give Portugal a fighting chance in that group...surely.
I think picking German players is pretty safe, as I expect them to get out of the group for sure. Denmark should get smashed, Germany > Netherlands and Portugal lacks a really good striker (I consider Ronaldo a winger).
To change formation just bring on one of ur midfield players/strikers/defenders and swap him for a player in different area to change. You can do 3-4-3 3-5-2 (which i have) 4-4-2 4-3-3 5-4-1 (if u want :S) but not anything silly like 4-2-4 (i think)
My time isnt 100% completed yet so i might pick up some players from some of your guys teams.
Don't think you can check other teams line ups until the league has started, i tried to click peoples name and didnt seem to work. Maybe closer to the tournament opening when all squads confirmed etc it will lock itself in place.
Don't know if it's possible to view other dudes' line-ups. Couldn't find it yet, at least. Guess we'll just print-screen 'em if people want to keep track.
Noticed I forgot to post my substitutes: (POL) Szczęsny, (SWE) J. Olsson, (CZE) Rosický, (NED) Luuk de Jong.
In the end I only picked three players from the group of death and no Germans. German players were just too expensive for the risk and I feel if I'm going to take a risk I may as well pick Ronaldo. Have no idea why I picked Balotelli, but I get the feeling he's going to be playing out of his mind. XD
Parker is injured my friend he wont be going to EUROs xD
Little Tip - Try save money on ur reserve keeper, 9/10 whoever u pick as your keeper is not going to be subbed unless injured, and then if u pick Cech for example and he goes out then you just use a free transfer ( 1 per match day) to sub him out and u can save a bit of money by having like a sub keeper for ukraine (example) who will be cheap as reserve.
ah thanks, didn't know about Parker should've checked/read a bit more, well I had buffon in my mind as first keeper except I was afraid of playing him on day one so I just picked Cech I guess I'll tinker around a bit more and post my final lineup a bit later
On May 24 2012 00:42 anomalopidae wrote: ah thanks, didn't know about Parker should've checked/read a bit more, well I had buffon in my mind as first keeper except I was afraid of playing him on day one so I just picked Cech I guess I'll tinker around a bit more and post my final lineup a bit later
In that case try pick a keeper from Poland/Russia who play in group A, they might keep a clean sheet first game and be cheap so u can play Buffon game 2.
Is Parker definitely out? I heard they were holding out hope for him, but maybe he just couldn't recover in time. From what I heard, Henderson will replace him.
Ok here is mine. I took Piszczek and Lewandowski because they both played a great season and Poland has the easiest group. I believe they will reach the quarter finals with their homecourt advantage. Cole is just a great defender so yeah. Italian defender and goalkeeper... catenaccio for the win. I took Özil and Khedira mainly because I don't like Bayern and refuse to play any of their players and the likes of Reus and Götze are great but it's unsure if they will start (more likely not). Iniesta and Modric are both great players and M'Vila could really have a great EC if France performs reasonable well. Last but not least Ibrahimovic may hopefully score some goals, although he sucks for Sweden most of the time. So taking him is quite risky, but I can see Sweden going to the quarters ahead of Ukraine and England. Especially with Rooney out for two games.
Porteros: Casillas, Valdés y Reina. Defensas: Arbeloa, Juanfran, Ramos, Piqué, Albiol, Javi Martínez y Jordi Alba. Centrocampistas: Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Cazorla, Silva, Mata, Cesc, Pedro y Navas. Delanteros: Llorente, Torres y Negredo.
I dont like this list. I cant believe Torres and Negredo are in the list... Soldado and Adrian have done a better year than both. Personally I think De Gea should be instad of Reina, but who cares, It is going to play Casillas.
I miss Luis Aragones Coach (The one Spain won Eurocup 2008), Spain played much better in Eurocup that in the WorldCup with Del Bosque.
On May 27 2012 20:39 haitike wrote: Spain final list:
Porteros: Casillas, Valdés y Reina. Defensas: Arbeloa, Juanfran, Ramos, Piqué, Albiol, Javi Martínez y Jordi Alba. Centrocampistas: Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Cazorla, Silva, Mata, Cesc, Pedro y Navas. Delanteros: Llorente, Torres y Negredo.
I dont like this list. I cant believe Torres and Negredo are in the list... Soldado and Adrian have done a better year than both. Personally I think De Gea should be instad of Reina, but who cares, It is going to play Casillas.
I miss Luis Aragones Coach (The one Spain won Eurocup 2008), Spain played much better in Eurocup that in the WorldCup with Del Bosque.
Reina is better than De Gea, both between the sticks and as a presence in the dressing room.
I just hope Klose will not suck this season, he cost sooo much t_t. But he never ceased to amaze me at national team. So I hope he will score many goals.
You could also add http://www.livescore.com/euro-2012/ to the coverage list in the OP. It's a nice site if you want to know what's going on and are at work or something. It's also a great place to get a quick glance on vital info, schedule, tables and so on.
Italian football is so bizarre and apparently corrupt, its really hard to make sense of it with so many match fixing allegations and convictions flying around in the last few years
On May 29 2012 03:30 Retric wrote: Löw should have fired Marcel Schmelzer and brought in Diego Contento.
Don't think so.. Schmelzer needs some time and I'm sure he will fit well in that squad. And beside that I think Contento wants to play for Italy anyway?
Barry cant continue after his injury in Norway game, shame he must be gutted. Funny we bought in CB for a CM though, oh well.
Which makes me wonder just what Hodgson's plan is. He religiously loves his 4-4-2, so we can expect that to at least be the starting formation, and with Barry's injury we have Gerrard, Lampard, Parker (still a doubt for me, despite managing 55 minutes against Norway), Milner and Henderson, with Jones capable of playing there. Which means we have Parker and Henderson who can play a holding mid, but neither are likely to play if Hodgson persists in the England curse of trying to play Gerrard and Lampard together in a 4-4-2.
Now if he tries something fancy and puts five or three in midfield, what will that middle three be? Gerrard is the captain, so he'll be playing. And Lampard - how many england managers have been able to leave him out? So we will likely see them pushing forward with Parker - if fit - and I'm guessing Jones if not as the holding mid. Because otherwise we'd have that ubiquitous Milner playing yet another role for England that he's not really that good at, but he keeps running and can play anywhere so we always take him.
A bit worrying in my eyes. Add to this Johnson is also an injury worry and may be unfit for the start of the tournament, which means we'd have to play Jones there (instead of Richards...sigh). Or...Kelly? Have to admit I don't even know this guy. But I'm not feeling good about the centre of the park or the right back position at all. At least the left is covered... ooo, can Baines play right back?
Not looking forward to seeing how we line up in the first game, sadly.
Edit: And AFC Tentacle will be slithering into the league. No idea how to post a pic of the team, but you should fear us. We will get into you(r penalty box) and score.
Just put Lampard on one of the wings, just look how well Becks turned out as right winger. Do it Hodgson ^^
The thing is: should England play with 1 or 2 strikers, they all suck so you either need 2 to make the goals of one good striker or are better off keeping the attack to minimum. I would probably try a 4-6-0 or 4-5-1 with a target man who can keep the ball up. You just need a reasonably skilled and tall guy for that, not Carroll. Would probably work wonders with the Hodgson 100% defensively focused strategy.
e.
On May 27 2012 22:45 aseq wrote: Spain looking sick on goal and in the midfield. Pity they can't just field 3 goalkeepers and 8 midfielders. But I think they'll do well regardless.
From what i saw in the friendly, the team become the same old super sloppy mess they often are as soon as parker came off, he seems to be the only person in the squad who can pass a ball 5 feet without it being intercepted, downing should be nowhere near the squad let alone the first 11, hodgson must be bedding his girlfriend or something. I would have loved to see him go balls to the wall with the selection and drop all the golden oldies, I would only keep parker as a player over 30, use it as a building experience for the young players to gel, there are quite a lot of bright sparks in the u21 and so on. People like shelvey, chamberlain, rose, kelly, lansbury etc. and butland as cover for hart. Just throw caution to the wind and see what happens, exciting play would be nice. I wouldn't even mind if england played a super defensive style, provided they did it well. But as I said they are so bad at keeping possession with the current bunch of players it would backfire hard.
Chelsea players re join the England squad this week after there 1 week break to refresh themselves for the tournament. I hope Hodgson just makes us hard to beat, the only way we will ever win a major tournament is by defending well and scoring the odd goal on the break, or score early on and keep the lead for the remainder of the game. Greece/Chelsea Champions league style is what they need and hope he does it, which i think he will to be honest.
On May 29 2012 20:58 sc4k wrote: I really expect that Carroll will buckle under the pressure and fail miserably, hope not though.
Oh I don't know, a highlight reel of carrolls failings is probably the best offering we can give to the tournament, and everyone loves watching him trip on the ball in front of an open net.
By the way is ukraine getting such bad press across europe or is it just in the UK, seems the media here have a new shocking expose into racism and hooligan culture every other hour.
Yeah, I don't see Caroll doing much this championship. I'd rather go with Welbeck than Caroll. With Rooney suspended, it's looking like England will have a tough time scoring. Lampard and Gerrard will have to step up to the occasion, I guess.
Lol, its funny femputer xD England taking it over the top that one group of hooligans in Ukraine said if any blacks come over we will fight them as "any black in the country will die".
On May 29 2012 21:29 NuclearJudas wrote: Yeah, I don't see Caroll doing much this championship. I'd rather go with Welbeck than Caroll. With Rooney suspended, it's looking like England will have a tough time scoring. Lampard and Gerrard will have to step up to the occasion, I guess.
Carroll have shown great form the last few months. He will dominate absolutey anyone in the air, and I think that fits Hodgsons primitive football quite well, not to mention that Welbeck has been injured.
As usual the England team is a poor football team, but their group shouldn't be a hard one and if they win it chances are they will dodge the biggest guns in the quarter finals. They are however so piss poor in comparison to the best teams, I would consider it a bigger upset if they won the cup than it was when Greece took it home.
Bit harsh no? I would love someone to show me a squad with a better back 4 than then English one, specially squad and depth. Best LB in competition is Ashley Cole, Baines got in ahead of him in all prem teams of the year this season. CBs are Cahill Terry Lescott Jagielka. Cahill Terry won the champions league and FA Cup, contained Barecelona twice and Bayern at home, not bad. Lescott was dominant with Kompany all season keeping the likes of Toure on the bench. Jagielka has been the best defender in Everton's side for many a year and deserves his call up too. RBs are our weakest spot but we still have a solid RB in Johnson who is very very good going forward who can score and has pace to help himself out at the back. Jones to cover RB CB and CM as he is versitle and can chip in with goals with his runs pace and good heading ability from set peices. You organise that Defense properly and we will be hard to beat fact.
You want to know the saddest thing? After making norway look like spain two of the commentators and the presenter were happy with the performance. Only roy keane called them out and asked why england couldn't string passes together, the other idiots were happy that out sixty minute rear guard action had scraped a win from a team that didn't even qualify.
On May 29 2012 23:20 femputer wrote: You want to know the saddest thing? After making norway look like spain two of the commentators and the presenter were happy with the performance. Only roy keane called them out and asked why england couldn't string passes together, the other idiots were happy that out sixty minute rear guard action had scraped a win from a team that didn't even qualify.
1 it was not Englands first 11 2 England team chosen have never played football properly through out there careers, only Arsenal have truely stuck to heels on pass pass pass barcelona style in premiership, and well they have 2 english players representing the country. 3 Hodgson's first game after 3 training sessions? He works from the back forward 4 A win is a win. Im sure if you won the game and it was the other way round you would being saying Norway beat England all that matters.
Also if you look back to Capello era and watch us play Montengro of all teams, they did the same had like 60% possesion at there own ground lol, but we drew that game 2-2 with 10men so not to bad.
On May 29 2012 21:29 Pandemona wrote: Lol, its funny femputer xD England taking it over the top that one group of hooligans in Ukraine said if any blacks come over we will fight them as "any black in the country will die".
Meanwhile Sol Campbell has advised that fans don't travel to the tournament, especially if they are black, because of the racism endemic in football there. Ukraine has responded saying that there is no problem and Campbell is insolent for suggesting there is one.
I can honestly see someone coming home in a pine box. UEFA is as bad as FIFA at assigning competition venues - only give it to countries where the safety of the fans can be guaranteed.
On May 29 2012 21:29 Pandemona wrote: Lol, its funny femputer xD England taking it over the top that one group of hooligans in Ukraine said if any blacks come over we will fight them as "any black in the country will die".
Meanwhile Sol Campbell has advised that fans don't travel to the tournament, especially if they are black, because of the racism endemic in football there. Ukraine has responded saying that there is no problem and Campbell is insolent for suggesting there is one.
I can honestly see someone coming home in a pine box. UEFA is as bad as FIFA at assigning competition venues - only give it to countries where the safety of the fans can be guaranteed.
well, you can't say safety isn't guaranteed just because of some comments by idiots, you can be certain there will be shit load of security around the venues, it is after all eastern european country which western world believes still lacks touches of democracy ergo it must have lot of personnel to prevent insurrections
On May 29 2012 17:47 Pandemona wrote: Chelsea players re join the England squad this week after there 1 week break to refresh themselves for the tournament. I hope Hodgson just makes us hard to beat, the only way we will ever win a major tournament is by defending well and scoring the odd goal on the break, or score early on and keep the lead for the remainder of the game. Greece/Chelsea Champions league style is what they need and hope he does it, which i think he will to be honest.
Oh I'm guessing inside the venues there will be enough police to make sure things don't kick off too badly. Which will do nothing to control things thrown on the pitch, at players, racist chanting etc...
No, I'm expecting fan violence in the streets. The police can't be everywhere, and to be honest if the stadiums are showing fans giving the nazi salute and using monkey chants against black players then I'm not sure the police are that concerned about racism as long as they don't riot. Not the mentality I would want to have surrounding me, especially if I was black or Jewish, apparently.
But then, UEFA and FIFA never seem that concerned about these things either. Having an anti-racism campaign is all well and good but what message does it send if you give prestigious tournaments to countries that have endemic racism problems in football, or are legally homophobic as in the case of Qatar?
I think that if the situation in Ukraine was that bad they wouldn't have applied for the EURO's. If there is going to be violence it's going to happen a long way from the stadiums or tourist centers.
On May 30 2012 03:57 Sanctimonius wrote: Oh I'm guessing inside the venues there will be enough police to make sure things don't kick off too badly. Which will do nothing to control things thrown on the pitch, at players, racist chanting etc...
No, I'm expecting fan violence in the streets. The police can't be everywhere, and to be honest if the stadiums are showing fans giving the nazi salute and using monkey chants against black players then I'm not sure the police are that concerned about racism as long as they don't riot. Not the mentality I would want to have surrounding me, especially if I was black or Jewish, apparently.
But then, UEFA and FIFA never seem that concerned about these things either. Having an anti-racism campaign is all well and good but what message does it send if you give prestigious tournaments to countries that have endemic racism problems in football, or are legally homophobic as in the case of Qatar?
You make "racism" sound like the main issue here, but the more important question is, what are black players doing in an European tournament in the first place? Not to mention how offensive it is to portray us Eastern European football fans as some kind of brainless bloodthirsty mob. Yes it's a part of football here as much as it is everywhere. We also have a long history and strong team traditions and results as do any other country out there.
I remember everyone was so worried how unsafe South Africa was and people advised against travelling there, and that the massive crime statistics will be more remembered after the games than the matches themselves... and in the end, everything went fine. The most memorable thing about the 2010 World Cup: Vuvuzelas, and not atrocities against the fans.
On May 29 2012 17:47 Pandemona wrote: Chelsea players re join the England squad this week after there 1 week break to refresh themselves for the tournament. I hope Hodgson just makes us hard to beat, the only way we will ever win a major tournament is by defending well and scoring the odd goal on the break, or score early on and keep the lead for the remainder of the game. Greece/Chelsea Champions league style is what they need and hope he does it, which i think he will to be honest.
On May 30 2012 03:57 Sanctimonius wrote: Oh I'm guessing inside the venues there will be enough police to make sure things don't kick off too badly. Which will do nothing to control things thrown on the pitch, at players, racist chanting etc...
No, I'm expecting fan violence in the streets. The police can't be everywhere, and to be honest if the stadiums are showing fans giving the nazi salute and using monkey chants against black players then I'm not sure the police are that concerned about racism as long as they don't riot. Not the mentality I would want to have surrounding me, especially if I was black or Jewish, apparently.
But then, UEFA and FIFA never seem that concerned about these things either. Having an anti-racism campaign is all well and good but what message does it send if you give prestigious tournaments to countries that have endemic racism problems in football, or are legally homophobic as in the case of Qatar?
You make "racism" sound like the main issue here, but the more important question is, what are black players doing in an European tournament in the first place? Not to mention how offensive it is to portray us Eastern European football fans as some kind of brainless bloodthirsty mob. Yes it's a part of football here as much as it is everywhere. We also have a long history and strong team traditions and results as do any other country out there.
Wait, seriously? Are you arguing that black players, simply by sheer dint of being black, shouldn't be playing in a European tournament, regardless of where they were born or what nationality they are? Do... do you realise how that sounds? Regardless of your strong 'traditions' you cannot attack a person because of the colour of their skin.
As a huge football fan and a citizen of the U.S I will be throwing my support behind the old country. Hopefully Hodgson really makes a difference on the team.
Also kinda hoping the Greeks get knocked out in the group stages. It's not that I don't like them per se it's just that they play some of the most boring football imaginable.
1 it was not Englands first 11 2 England team chosen have never played football properly through out there careers, only Arsenal have truely stuck to heels on pass pass pass barcelona style in premiership, and well they have 2 english players representing the country. 3 Hodgson's first game after 3 training sessions? He works from the back forward 4 A win is a win. Im sure if you won the game and it was the other way round you would being saying Norway beat England all that matters.
Also if you look back to Capello era and watch us play Montengro of all teams, they did the same had like 60% possesion at there own ground lol, but we drew that game 2-2 with 10men so not to bad.
Heh maybe I get a bit to gloomy when england underperform (to my mind anyway). Point three though I wanted to say, I don't think whatever happens we can really blame the manager, we've had too many with so much success get rubbished and dragged through the mud after a bad tournament. Can't really blame the players either really they are just the result of a process they are put through from god knows how young. Very easy to get dispondent~~~
On May 30 2012 04:06 Muki wrote: You make "racism" sound like the main issue here, but the more important question is, what are black players doing in an European tournament in the first place?
Do you understand what you have written right there? Putting "racism" in quotation marks even...
1 it was not Englands first 11 2 England team chosen have never played football properly through out there careers, only Arsenal have truely stuck to heels on pass pass pass barcelona style in premiership, and well they have 2 english players representing the country. 3 Hodgson's first game after 3 training sessions? He works from the back forward 4 A win is a win. Im sure if you won the game and it was the other way round you would being saying Norway beat England all that matters.
Also if you look back to Capello era and watch us play Montengro of all teams, they did the same had like 60% possesion at there own ground lol, but we drew that game 2-2 with 10men so not to bad.
Heh maybe I get a bit to gloomy when england underperform (to my mind anyway). Point three though I wanted to say, I don't think whatever happens we can really blame the manager, we've had too many with so much success get rubbished and dragged through the mud after a bad tournament. Can't really blame the players either really they are just the result of a process they are put through from god knows how young. Very easy to get dispondent~~~
While the EPL is the most promising national league in Europe (see it in front of La Liga), hardly any English player is shining there. The teams are filled with foreigners. What England badly needs is a better youth work and coaches who give younger players (local talents) a chance to prove themselves in the first league. Germany once had a similar thinking as England but since the last ten years youth work in Germany has changed dramatically. Local talents getting supported by most of the clubs no-holds-barred and the result you can see now, especially when you look at the German national side. I wish England the best and hopefully we meet once again when England has sorted out their problems and can be called a serious contender again. Just my two cents, sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes.
something that doesn't involve two central midfielders that cannot defend and have never played well together, and something that doesn't involve two wingers whose only attributes are pace and diving respectively
Buahaha. I`m really shocked with this racism and "unsafety" thing.
First of all, most of "real supporters" (dedicated 100% into the clubs) are not interested in Euro in any way. Poland is known (actually as i see it is not) for beeing one of the most kind for out guest.
Of course, like everywhere in the world - serious shit can happen in random circumstances.
As for now, there have never been any riots in Poland like for example in London last year. And still i guess noone is expecting Olympics to be unsafe (I`m coming for almost whole event btw)
So really - get real, i doubt that even one!!! black man was murdered in Poland this year...
On May 30 2012 04:24 RJGooner wrote: As a huge football fan and a citizen of the U.S I will be throwing my support behind the old country. Hopefully Hodgson really makes a difference on the team.
you know that there are twice as many german americans than english americans, right? there are even more americans of irish descent than of english descent.
On May 29 2012 23:19 Pandemona wrote: Bit harsh no? I would love someone to show me a squad with a better back 4 than then English one, specially squad and depth. Best LB in competition is Ashley Cole, Baines got in ahead of him in all prem teams of the year this season. CBs are Cahill Terry Lescott Jagielka. Cahill Terry won the champions league and FA Cup, contained Barecelona twice and Bayern at home, not bad. Lescott was dominant with Kompany all season keeping the likes of Toure on the bench. Jagielka has been the best defender in Everton's side for many a year and deserves his call up too. RBs are our weakest spot but we still have a solid RB in Johnson who is very very good going forward who can score and has pace to help himself out at the back. Jones to cover RB CB and CM as he is versitle and can chip in with goals with his runs pace and good heading ability from set peices. You organise that Defense properly and we will be hard to beat fact.
They will be hard to beat, but I don't think that wll be enough. Its incredible that the country with one of the two best leagues in the world is lagging so far behind when it comes to the national team.
If England wins their group they have a solid chance of getting "easy" opposition in their ro8, but I have a hard time seeing them getting that far without taking a tumble, and that will most likely pair them with Spain in the ro8. If they dodge that bullet they will probably face Germany/Holland/Portugal in the semis, and I just can't see them beat any of those teams, but hey, maybe Roys defensive style is just what is needed. Good luck!
Oh god Im so excited, football is so frickin awesome!
On May 30 2012 05:43 Ysellian wrote: I haven't been this excited for a international tournament since Euro 2000
With good reason, you guys have very strong team! Always funny to watch Holland. I am especially looking forward to see the flying dutchman fight the portuguese again, certainly some history there.
On May 30 2012 05:43 Ysellian wrote: I haven't been this excited for a international tournament since Euro 2000
With good reason, you guys have very strong team! Always funny to watch Holland. I am especially looking forward to see the flying dutchman fight the portuguese again, certainly some history there.
Would be great to get a win against them after all these years too. And yeah I wouldn't want to be the ref XD
On May 29 2012 21:29 Pandemona wrote: Lol, its funny femputer xD England taking it over the top that one group of hooligans in Ukraine said if any blacks come over we will fight them as "any black in the country will die".
Meanwhile Sol Campbell has advised that fans don't travel to the tournament, especially if they are black, because of the racism endemic in football there. Ukraine has responded saying that there is no problem and Campbell is insolent for suggesting there is one.
I can honestly see someone coming home in a pine box. UEFA is as bad as FIFA at assigning competition venues - only give it to countries where the safety of the fans can be guaranteed.
Ukraine and Poland are pretty safe countries.
If you're an experienced traveller, which most fans going to the Euros will be, then you should be fine.
On May 29 2012 21:29 Pandemona wrote: Lol, its funny femputer xD England taking it over the top that one group of hooligans in Ukraine said if any blacks come over we will fight them as "any black in the country will die".
Meanwhile Sol Campbell has advised that fans don't travel to the tournament, especially if they are black, because of the racism endemic in football there. Ukraine has responded saying that there is no problem and Campbell is insolent for suggesting there is one.
I can honestly see someone coming home in a pine box. UEFA is as bad as FIFA at assigning competition venues - only give it to countries where the safety of the fans can be guaranteed.
Ukraine and Poland are pretty safe countries.
If you're an experienced traveller, which most fans going to the Euros will be, then you should be fine.
There are always some nutjobs, no matter where a tournament takes place
Will be supporting Ireland and at various points Germany, Italy and Russia.
Basically Ireland because its Ireland and anyone England plays because I really cba with the auld enemy bragging about something else on top of 1966 if they actually sodding well win it somehow.
Honestly, English people actually believe us Scots support of other countries is some racist/jealousy thing, its not. We just don't want to have to hoof our TV's out for the next 50 years because you lot have won something again. Slight QQ here about having TV dominated by adverts shouting 'Cmon England' and TV programs about 'Englands greatest football team', 'Englands worst football team' and the 'story of 1966' all the sodding time. Don't even get me started on the TV pundits who spend most 'Non England' games talking more about Wayne Rooneys warts or piles than whats actually going on with the match they are watching atm.
Grats on being a nation of more than 50 million people and winning something I guess.
/rant off, cmon Ireland!
Edit - Man I sound like a ranting dick. Sorry in advance to anyone I've bored/ offended.
On May 29 2012 21:29 Pandemona wrote: Lol, its funny femputer xD England taking it over the top that one group of hooligans in Ukraine said if any blacks come over we will fight them as "any black in the country will die".
Meanwhile Sol Campbell has advised that fans don't travel to the tournament, especially if they are black, because of the racism endemic in football there. Ukraine has responded saying that there is no problem and Campbell is insolent for suggesting there is one.
I can honestly see someone coming home in a pine box. UEFA is as bad as FIFA at assigning competition venues - only give it to countries where the safety of the fans can be guaranteed.
Ukraine and Poland are pretty safe countries.
If you're an experienced traveller, which most fans going to the Euros will be, then you should be fine.
There are always some nutjobs, no matter where a tournament takes place
On May 30 2012 20:50 Mallidon wrote: Will be supporting Ireland and at various points Germany, Italy and Russia.
Basically Ireland because its Ireland and anyone England plays because I really cba with the auld enemy bragging about something else on top of 1966 if they actually sodding well win it somehow.
Honestly, English people actually believe us Scots support of other countries is some racist/jealousy thing, its not. We just don't want to have to hoof our TV's out for the next 50 years because you lot have won something again. Slight QQ here about having TV dominated by adverts shouting 'Cmon England' and TV programs about 'Englands greatest football team', 'Englands worst football team' and the 'story of 1966' all the sodding time. Don't even get me started on the TV pundits who spend most 'Non England' games talking more about Wayne Rooneys warts or piles than whats actually going on with the match they are watching atm.
Grats on being a nation of more than 50 million people and winning something I guess.
/rant off, cmon Ireland!
Edit - Man I sound like a ranting dick. Sorry in advance to anyone I've bored/ offended.
LOL post of the day Pretty funny how your TV shows English adverts xD or maybe your goverment do it to piss you off i don't know XD
There are subs at the bottom depending on what country its for. I'm so damn excited for the Euro :D
Quite telling that they had to go back to a meaningless game in 1985 (Germany was already qualified for the World Cup) to find a Portuguese victory against Germany
There are subs at the bottom depending on what country its for. I'm so damn excited for the Euro :D
Quite telling that they had to go back to a meaningless game in 1985 (Germany was already qualified for the World Cup) to find a Portuguese victory against Germany
There are subs at the bottom depending on what country its for. I'm so damn excited for the Euro :D
Quite telling that they had to go back to a meaningless game in 1985 (Germany was already qualified for the World Cup) to find a Portuguese victory against Germany
There are subs at the bottom depending on what country its for. I'm so damn excited for the Euro :D
Quite telling that they had to go back to a meaningless game in 1985 (Germany was already qualified for the World Cup) to find a Portuguese victory against Germany
There are subs at the bottom depending on what country its for. I'm so damn excited for the Euro :D
Quite telling that they had to go back to a meaningless game in 1985 (Germany was already qualified for the World Cup) to find a Portuguese victory against Germany
And we would've won this one and participate in the WC 1998 if the referee hadn't sent off Rui Costa for walking out of hte field for a sub: http://www.zerozero.pt/jogo.php?id=335211
that germany team preview is pretty disappointing imo because neiterh götz nor reus are listed there and i am sure that at least one of them is gonna be playing eventhough götze has been injured for a long time but he is back in shape now.
also it is by far not certain that the defense will look like this because both boateng and badstuber seemed played kinda shaky with FC Bayern lately especially Boateng who has caused an immense amount of penaltys lately
Just read that Lampard might miss the Euro Cup and is awaiting confirmation from MRI scan tommorow. Any word about how serious this is? I think he's a great player and if he isn't playing then it's going to be a great loss for England.
On May 31 2012 00:27 sVnteen wrote: this is gonna be aaaaaaaaaaaaaawesome
that germany team preview is pretty disappointing imo because neiterh götz nor reus are listed there and i am sure that at least one of them is gonna be playing eventhough götze has been injured for a long time but he is back in shape now.
also it is by far not certain that the defense will look like this because both boateng and badstuber seemed played kinda shaky with FC Bayern lately especially Boateng who has caused an immense amount of penaltys lately
yes the best central defense of the bundesliga, who only conceded 22 goals this bundesliga season, and the central defense who made it to the CL final is shaky.
No news on Lamps until tomorrow. Hope it isn't serious he has been in great form since Roberto came in. Pass to set up Ramires after dispossesing Messi was my favorite :D
Parker is now FULLY FIT for EUROs according to the player, so if you have him in your dream team you will be fine with him
On May 31 2012 00:36 Pandemona wrote: No news on Lamps until tomorrow. Hope it isn't serious he has been in great form since Roberto came in. Pass to set up Ramires after dispossesing Messi was my favorite :D
Parker is now FULLY FIT for EUROs according to the player, so if you have him in your dream team you will be fine with him
Happy if only to prevent him and Gerrard being shoehorned into the same side, sadly.
It doesn't even matter if Lampard is fit or not because he probably won't play much if at all, seeing as how Roy insists on 4-4-2 with Gerrard and Parker -.-
also it is by far not certain that the defense will look like this because both boateng and badstuber seemed played kinda shaky with FC Bayern lately especially Boateng who has caused an immense amount of penaltys lately
oh wow, bvb fan detected. nah, the hummels-schmelzer defense in the testgame vs switzerland looked pretty solid.
also it is by far not certain that the defense will look like this because both boateng and badstuber seemed played kinda shaky with FC Bayern lately especially Boateng who has caused an immense amount of penaltys lately
oh wow, bvb fan detected. nah, the hummels-schmelzer defense in the testgame vs switzerland looked pretty solid.
i guess it all depends if Lahm is playing left or right
Schmelzer/Hummel were pretty dissappointing in the testgame afaik, but their performance in the league was more than solid.
If everybody steps up their game i think it probably will be
On May 30 2012 23:04 sharkie wrote: How can any football fan hate Figo?
Figo played a big part in preventing the dutch from qualifying in wc 2002. Went on to play his best match of the tournament against us in euro 2004 and than of course 2006.
Having said that, I actually own a Figo shirt XD. I watched Portugal play a couple times during the Euro 2000 and he was simply brilliant. Loved the way they played throughout the tournament. Can't believe that side never won anything after their succes in the Youth world cup.
On May 30 2012 23:04 sharkie wrote: How can any football fan hate Figo?
Figo played a big part in preventing the dutch from qualifying in wc 2002. Went on to play his best match of the tournament against us in euro 2004 and than of course 2006.
Having said that, I actually own a Figo shirt XD. I watched Portugal play a couple times during the Euro 2000 and he was simply brilliant. Loved the way they played throughout the tournament. Can't believe that side never won anything after their succes in the Youth world cup.
Please don't remind me. I got to grow up during one of Portugal's best eras.. an era of short comings. xD
I bought a Figo shirt every WC and EC until he retired :D
also it is by far not certain that the defense will look like this because both boateng and badstuber seemed played kinda shaky with FC Bayern lately especially Boateng who has caused an immense amount of penaltys lately
oh wow, bvb fan detected. nah, the hummels-schmelzer defense in the testgame vs switzerland looked pretty solid.
i guess it all depends if Lahm is playing left or right
Schmelzer/Hummel were pretty dissappointing in the testgame afaik, but their performance in the league was more than solid.
If everybody steps up their game i think it probably will be
The other way around.. If Lahm will play on the right, Schmelzer will be on the left and if Lahm's on the left, Boateng's most likely to be on the right (Höwedes also an option here). The other question is Mertesacker or Badstuber as centre-back (Hummels is confirmed i think). Against Switzerland Mertesacker was really poor, i think he just isn't in form yet after his injury so I hope for Badstuber-Hummels duo here.
Edit: Oh shit.. i looked at it from another angle haha. Sorry, you are right of course!
Edit2: But if Schmelzer plays, Hummels will be playing next to him just like in Dortmund.
On May 30 2012 23:04 sharkie wrote: How can any football fan hate Figo?
Figo played a big part in preventing the dutch from qualifying in wc 2002. Went on to play his best match of the tournament against us in euro 2004 and than of course 2006.
Having said that, I actually own a Figo shirt XD. I watched Portugal play a couple times during the Euro 2000 and he was simply brilliant. Loved the way they played throughout the tournament. Can't believe that side never won anything after their succes in the Youth world cup.
Please don't remind me. I got to grow up during one of Portugal's best eras.. an era of short comings. xD
I bought a Figo shirt every WC and EC until he retired :D
Don't worry the Dutch understand you... So many great generations so many fucking losses all the time *cough*.
Badstuber will play. He did all the qualifier games and had a good season. It will be between Hummels and Merte, but I think Merte is still not at 100%.
also it is by far not certain that the defense will look like this because both boateng and badstuber seemed played kinda shaky with FC Bayern lately especially Boateng who has caused an immense amount of penaltys lately
oh wow, bvb fan detected. nah, the hummels-schmelzer defense in the testgame vs switzerland looked pretty solid.
i guess it all depends if Lahm is playing left or right
Schmelzer/Hummel were pretty dissappointing in the testgame afaik, but their performance in the league was more than solid.
If everybody steps up their game i think it probably will be
The other way around.. If Lahm will play on the right, Schmelzer will be on the left and if Lahm's on the left, Boateng's most likely to be on the right (Höwedes also an option here). The other question is Mertesacker or Badstuber as centre-back (Hummels is confirmed i think). Against Switzerland Mertesacker was really poor, i think he just isn't in form yet after his injury so I hope for Badstuber-Hummels duo here.
Edit: Oh shit.. i looked at it from another angle haha. Sorry, you are right of course!
Edit2: But if Schmelzer plays, Hummels will be playing next to him just like in Dortmund.
it doesn't matter if schmelzer plays or not. badstuber will play left centre back because he is left footed. Hummels will play right centre back even if schmelzer plays left back. (which i do not hope).
On May 30 2012 20:50 Mallidon wrote: Will be supporting Ireland and at various points Germany, Italy and Russia.
Basically Ireland because its Ireland and anyone England plays because I really cba with the auld enemy bragging about something else on top of 1966 if they actually sodding well win it somehow.
Honestly, English people actually believe us Scots support of other countries is some racist/jealousy thing, its not. We just don't want to have to hoof our TV's out for the next 50 years because you lot have won something again. Slight QQ here about having TV dominated by adverts shouting 'Cmon England' and TV programs about 'Englands greatest football team', 'Englands worst football team' and the 'story of 1966' all the sodding time. Don't even get me started on the TV pundits who spend most 'Non England' games talking more about Wayne Rooneys warts or piles than whats actually going on with the match they are watching atm.
Grats on being a nation of more than 50 million people and winning something I guess.
/rant off, cmon Ireland!
Edit - Man I sound like a ranting dick. Sorry in advance to anyone I've bored/ offended.
LOL post of the day Pretty funny how your TV shows English adverts xD or maybe your goverment do it to piss you off i don't know XD
And after posting this, the SAME NIGHT... 'How to be England Manager' came on TV (I think it was BBC3). Grr lol
Yeah, I don't think its to do with our government really, just the fact we have to share TV and it never ever seems to be regional with regards to adverts/programmes etc. Even back in the day when there was 'BBC1 Scotland' etc it was mainly just the news that was different, not 99% of the actual programmes.
Anyways, I've got to dash off and toss a few cabers while eating haggis, might calm me down...
On May 30 2012 20:50 Mallidon wrote: Will be supporting Ireland and at various points Germany, Italy and Russia.
Basically Ireland because its Ireland and anyone England plays because I really cba with the auld enemy bragging about something else on top of 1966 if they actually sodding well win it somehow.
Honestly, English people actually believe us Scots support of other countries is some racist/jealousy thing, its not. We just don't want to have to hoof our TV's out for the next 50 years because you lot have won something again. Slight QQ here about having TV dominated by adverts shouting 'Cmon England' and TV programs about 'Englands greatest football team', 'Englands worst football team' and the 'story of 1966' all the sodding time. Don't even get me started on the TV pundits who spend most 'Non England' games talking more about Wayne Rooneys warts or piles than whats actually going on with the match they are watching atm.
Grats on being a nation of more than 50 million people and winning something I guess.
/rant off, cmon Ireland!
Edit - Man I sound like a ranting dick. Sorry in advance to anyone I've bored/ offended.
LOL post of the day Pretty funny how your TV shows English adverts xD or maybe your goverment do it to piss you off i don't know XD
And after posting this, the SAME NIGHT... 'How to be England Manager' came on TV (I think it was BBC3). Grr lol
Yeah, I don't think its to do with our government really, just the fact we have to share TV and it never ever seems to be regional with regards to adverts/programmes etc. Even back in the day when there was 'BBC1 Scotland' etc it was mainly just the news that was different, not 99% of the actual programmes.
Anyways, I've got to dash off and toss a few cabers while eating haggis, might calm me down...
Is this bad news ? Didnt you fail the last 10 years to integrate him with gerrard ? Maybe this will turn out to be a good thing..
Well my friend, add to the equasion "scott parker" is definantly going to start, a guy who is only good at running around the pitch for 90minutes and tackling the odd opponent. He isn't a defensive midfielder and he isn't a play maker midfield. He does not do anything you couldn't train an 18 year old to do. Lamps can't run box to box no more i admit that, but the guy is known to score and show up in big games. Take the last 3-4 months of Chelsea season, guy had been playing all the right passes and coming up with some tackles. Also add into the equasion that Lampard is 34? he wil be 36 by the time the squad for World Cup 2014 is announced, he probably won't get into that so it will be his last tournamet in a sense and well, in his "supposidly" last champions league run with his mates of Drogba and co, they managed to win the champions league, so yeah i think we will miss him.
I am biast i admit that, but most of my points are pretty accurate, maybe im a slight harsh on Parker, but please show me someone he is better than in his position..specially international level.
Yeah it proper funny. Liverpool worst season in ages play so bad in every aspect from offense to defense style, and the most of there players in England squad madness. Downing Henderson Gerrard Carroll Johnson
The match vs Israel really made me like to see Schürrle starting ahead of Podolski at the EUROs.. such a great player. Also Müller doesn't seem to be in form yet. :/
Not a lot of people are talking about France but it's still a big nation for football and the current team haven't been defeated in 20 games all competitions. It is common knowledge in France that a french cannot perform at his best when he is favorite so this might be a good year for us. A little bit like 2006, except this time it's not a success based on one man but a good generation of players.
On June 01 2012 08:07 Otolia wrote: Not a lot of people are talking about France but it's still a big nation for football and the current team haven't been defeated in 20 games all competitions. It is common knowledge in France that a french cannot perform at his best when he is favorite so this might be a good year for us. A little bit like 2006, except this time it's not a success based on one man but a good generation of players.
Been wondering that myself, and i think they're one of the most underrated teams. They're hungry, are at the right age (27 average) and skilled. Their group is not too easy but not too hard either, the coach seems to know what he's doing and few people expect them. In my toto, they're making it to the final.
On June 01 2012 08:07 Otolia wrote: Not a lot of people are talking about France but it's still a big nation for football and the current team haven't been defeated in 20 games all competitions. It is common knowledge in France that a french cannot perform at his best when he is favorite so this might be a good year for us. A little bit like 2006, except this time it's not a success based on one man but a good generation of players.
Been wondering that myself, and i think they're one of the most underrated teams. They're hungry, are at the right age (27 average) and skilled. Their group is not too easy but not too hard either, the coach seems to know what he's doing and few people expect them. In my toto, they're making it to the final.
Agreed with this. France are the in-form team coming into the tournament and they have something to prove after the disaster that was the '10 world cup. All they needed to do was get rid of Domenech - who knew (apart from everyone...)? Can't wait to see them and I need M'Vila to get better so he can do well for my fantasy team
On June 01 2012 08:07 Otolia wrote: Not a lot of people are talking about France but it's still a big nation for football and the current team haven't been defeated in 20 games all competitions. It is common knowledge in France that a french cannot perform at his best when he is favorite so this might be a good year for us. A little bit like 2006, except this time it's not a success based on one man but a good generation of players.
Been wondering that myself, and i think they're one of the most underrated teams. They're hungry, are at the right age (27 average) and skilled. Their group is not too easy but not too hard either, the coach seems to know what he's doing and few people expect them. In my toto, they're making it to the final.
Problem is its not a uhhh I dont know what to say, team that has any real pfft whats the word "oomph" to it. Its a really solid team though. I expect surprises but no waves.
On May 31 2012 00:27 sVnteen wrote: this is gonna be aaaaaaaaaaaaaawesome
that germany team preview is pretty disappointing imo because neiterh götze nor reus are listed there and i am sure that at least one of them is gonna be playing eventhough götze has been injured for a long time but he is back in shape now.
also it is by far not certain that the defense will look like this because both boateng and badstuber seemed played kinda shaky with FC Bayern lately especially Boateng who has caused an immense amount of penaltys lately
yes the best central defense of the bundesliga, who only conceded 22 goals this bundesliga season, and the central defense who made it to the CL final is shaky.
boateng caused 1 penalty, immense amount that is.
1? you didn't pay much attention then...
also the reason that bayern made the CL finals is not their defense but their overall playstyle with a lot of posession and not their defense...
whose fault was drogbas goal in the cl finals? boatengs or not? and some minutes after that in the overtime.... oh yeah he almost caused another penalty against Torres which the referee didn't see also Lahm and Alaba helped a lot in the defense as both of them are really strong.
On June 01 2012 07:18 Epx wrote: The match vs Israel really made me like to see Schürrle starting ahead of Podolski at the EUROs.. such a great player. Also Müller doesn't seem to be in form yet. :/
My personal dream starting eleven for Germany:
Neuer
Höwedes, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm
Khedira, Schweinsteiger
Reus, Özil, Schürrle
Klose
Nah, i can't imagine Klose playing instead of Gomez, will never happen
i like the options we have for the offensive with the "old" Müller - Özil - Podolski
and the "new" Reus - Götze - Schürrle
Our roster has some amazing depth and possibilities
Carrick turned his back on England, reason he has not had a look in. Anyone who turns there back on there country deserves to be disowned by everyone. So fuck Carrick
On June 01 2012 20:23 iMonAhorsE wrote: i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I think they are a little bit underrated in the media, but the other coaches and teams rate them quite highly. I bet no one wants to face Italy in the ko-phase, they are solid team that most of the times performs well at big tournaments and are hard to beat. Spain for example only beat them in a penatly shoot out 4 years ago. They had a bad WC 2 years ago, so therefor the expectations aren't as high as usual. That's not a bad thing for them. As far as France is concerned everybody knows that they have great individual players, but they had those great players in the past as well and couldn't deliver, mainly because they weren't a team and had too many big egos. As of late they seem to have become more of a unit and if that's the case they will be one of the contenders for the title. Löw for example already stated that France could very well win this EC in his opinion.
i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I bet both aren't gonna make it out of their groups! They're so overrated! Italy has no worldclass player and France is Ribery+Benzema and some sidekicks.
On June 01 2012 20:23 iMonAhorsE wrote: i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I think they are a little bit underrated in the media, but the other coaches and teams rate them quite highly. I bet no one wants to face Italy in the ko-phase, they are solid team that most of the times performs well at big tournaments and are hard to beat. Spain for example only beat them in a penatly shoot out 4 years ago. They had a bad WC 2 years ago, so therefor the expectations aren't as high as usual. That's not a bad thing for them. As far as France is concerned everybody knows that they have great individual players, but they had those great players in the past as well and couldn't deliver, mainly because they weren't a team and had too many big egos. As of late they seem to have become more of a unit and if that's the case they will be one of the contenders for the title. Löw for example already stated that France could very well win this EC in his opinion.
But Laurent Blanc said few days ago : "This team is not ready".
I wouldn't expect much from France. Spain or Germany for the win imo.
BTW nobody expected Greece in 2004. It's football, everything is possible and it's why we love this sport ^^. .
On June 01 2012 20:23 iMonAhorsE wrote: i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I think they are a little bit underrated in the media, but the other coaches and teams rate them quite highly. I bet no one wants to face Italy in the ko-phase, they are solid team that most of the times performs well at big tournaments and are hard to beat. Spain for example only beat them in a penatly shoot out 4 years ago. They had a bad WC 2 years ago, so therefor the expectations aren't as high as usual. That's not a bad thing for them. As far as France is concerned everybody knows that they have great individual players, but they had those great players in the past as well and couldn't deliver, mainly because they weren't a team and had too many big egos. As of late they seem to have become more of a unit and if that's the case they will be one of the contenders for the title. Löw for example already stated that France could very well win this EC in his opinion.
But Laurent Blanc said few days ago : "This team is not ready".
I wouldn't expect much from France. Spain or Germany for the win imo.
BTW nobody expected Greece in 2004. It's football, everything is possible and it's why we love this sport ^^. .
That's exactly what I would say in his position, it's always easier going into a tournament with the expectations beeing low as you can only win in such a situation
i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I bet both aren't gonna make it out of their groups! They're so overrated! Italy has no worldclass player and France is Ribery+Benzema and some sidekicks.
Italy has quite a hard group with Spain and Croatia, so there is the possibility of them not making it out of the group. But if they make it out of the group they will once again be a hard opponent to beat. And France is in a Group with England, Sweden and the Ukraine. Ukraine is on of the worst teams at this EC in my opinion. Sweden is an ok team I guess and Englands team doesn't look very scary either, especially with Lampard/Wilshere missing the EC and Rooney out for the first two games. I would really be suprised if France didn't manage to make it out of this group.
On June 01 2012 20:23 iMonAhorsE wrote: i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I think they are a little bit underrated in the media, but the other coaches and teams rate them quite highly. I bet no one wants to face Italy in the ko-phase, they are solid team that most of the times performs well at big tournaments and are hard to beat. Spain for example only beat them in a penatly shoot out 4 years ago. They had a bad WC 2 years ago, so therefor the expectations aren't as high as usual. That's not a bad thing for them. As far as France is concerned everybody knows that they have great individual players, but they had those great players in the past as well and couldn't deliver, mainly because they weren't a team and had too many big egos. As of late they seem to have become more of a unit and if that's the case they will be one of the contenders for the title. Löw for example already stated that France could very well win this EC in his opinion.
But Laurent Blanc said few days ago : "This team is not ready".
I wouldn't expect much from France. Spain or Germany for the win imo.
BTW nobody expected Greece in 2004. It's football, everything is possible and it's why we love this sport ^^. .
With a squad like the one France has they should at the least be considered contenders. You don't have to necessarily be favorites to win it.
On June 01 2012 20:23 iMonAhorsE wrote: i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I think they are a little bit underrated in the media, but the other coaches and teams rate them quite highly. I bet no one wants to face Italy in the ko-phase, they are solid team that most of the times performs well at big tournaments and are hard to beat. Spain for example only beat them in a penatly shoot out 4 years ago. They had a bad WC 2 years ago, so therefor the expectations aren't as high as usual. That's not a bad thing for them. As far as France is concerned everybody knows that they have great individual players, but they had those great players in the past as well and couldn't deliver, mainly because they weren't a team and had too many big egos. As of late they seem to have become more of a unit and if that's the case they will be one of the contenders for the title. Löw for example already stated that France could very well win this EC in his opinion.
With Cassano and Rossi out iirc, I don't see Italy making a mark. It would be cool to see them win though, despite the match fixing scandal.
Germany should roll, although either Holland or Portogal can take this
On June 01 2012 22:39 Windwaker wrote: so hyped for germany vs.portugal
I say Germany score 3 with Schweinsteiger at least 1 goal, just like in 2006 and 2008. in 2006, it was Germany 3-1 in 2008, it was Germany 3-2 in 2012, maybe Germany 3-0? lol
i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I bet both aren't gonna make it out of their groups! They're so overrated! Italy has no worldclass player and France is Ribery+Benzema and some sidekicks.
Watch Messi in Argentine national team if you want to see how well a team based on one world class player works.
Italy can wield the best bottom 5 in Europe. Their midfield is experienced and good at their worst, they lack a guaranteed goal poacher which may see them go out early.
France is a bit unknown as everyone knew they were going to suck 2010 yet they have great players all around. Now it's all on Blanc not to be a Domenech and they'll do fine.
On June 01 2012 20:23 iMonAhorsE wrote: i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I think they are a little bit underrated in the media, but the other coaches and teams rate them quite highly. I bet no one wants to face Italy in the ko-phase, they are solid team that most of the times performs well at big tournaments and are hard to beat. Spain for example only beat them in a penatly shoot out 4 years ago. They had a bad WC 2 years ago, so therefor the expectations aren't as high as usual. That's not a bad thing for them. As far as France is concerned everybody knows that they have great individual players, but they had those great players in the past as well and couldn't deliver, mainly because they weren't a team and had too many big egos. As of late they seem to have become more of a unit and if that's the case they will be one of the contenders for the title. Löw for example already stated that France could very well win this EC in his opinion.
But Laurent Blanc said few days ago : "This team is not ready".
I wouldn't expect much from France. Spain or Germany for the win imo.
BTW nobody expected Greece in 2004. It's football, everything is possible and it's why we love this sport ^^. .
With a squad like the one France has they should at the least be considered contenders. You don't have to necessarily be favorites to win it.
I believe its where the term Dark horse comes into play.
On June 02 2012 13:54 Manit0u wrote: Isn't Russia a dark horse in this tournament? Or are they legitimately considered a top contender with good shot at the title?
I think Spain and Germany are the only legitimately considered top contenders with good shot at the title. Russia has an easy group. but if they make it out of their group (which I assume they will), we'll see what they're made of in quarter final when they play probably either Germany or Netherland or Portugal.
On June 02 2012 13:54 Manit0u wrote: Isn't Russia a dark horse in this tournament? Or are they legitimately considered a top contender with good shot at the title?
I think Spain and Germany are the only legitimately considered top contenders with good shot at the title. Russia has an easy group. but if they make it out of their group (which I assume they will), we'll see what they're made of in quarter final when they play probably either Germany or Netherland or Portugal.
Knockout tournament, One match. Anything can happen really. Kerzhakov, Shirikov and Arshavin have been excellent for Zenit, maybe they're tired. Either way, I think we are all looking forward to John Terry lifting the trophy, regardless of the victor.
If Italy really withdraws altogether, I tip whoever comes in the win it.
On June 02 2012 13:54 Manit0u wrote: Isn't Russia a dark horse in this tournament? Or are they legitimately considered a top contender with good shot at the title?
I think Spain and Germany are the only legitimately considered top contenders with good shot at the title. Russia has an easy group. but if they make it out of their group (which I assume they will), we'll see what they're made of in quarter final when they play probably either Germany or Netherland or Portugal.
Knockout tournament, One match. Anything can happen really. Kerzhakov, Shirikov and Arshavin have been excellent for Zenit, maybe they're tired. Either way, I think we are all looking forward to John Terry lifting the trophy, regardless of the victor.
If Italy really withdraws altogether, I tip whoever comes in the win it.
Well since our last title in 1996, our football team always sucked (relatively) when playing at a big tournament against eastern europe teams (We are 2w 3d 4l, with both wins against poland being hard-worked. In the same time we went 6w 3d 4l against rest of europe and 14w 1d 1l against rest of the world) . If we make it out of our hard group and then play one of the "weak" teams from group A, this will be such a trap game, with the whole media just looking for the semifinal already. I really hope we will face poland or greece then.
Mafe, you mean you hope you'll meet Poland, not Greece, after the group stage. We haven't won a single football match with Germany, ever, I believe our current stats are 12L 4D against you. Germany is our true nemesis when it comes to football.
Haha Czech republic lost against Hungary yesterday, my guess we will lose every match in our group. Well, I will be rooting for Netherlands anyways... (as every year)
On June 02 2012 17:51 Censured wrote: Haha Czech republic lost against Hungary yesterday, my guess we will lose every match in our group. Well, I will be rooting for Netherlands anyways... (as every year)
I still remember watching Holland vs Czech Republic 2-3 in 2004, one of the best games in Euro Cup history.
On June 02 2012 18:44 Ayush_SCtoss wrote: I was rooting for Portugal, Netherlands and Germany for this this year's tournament since last year but they are in the same group lmfao >.>
Root for Denmark then. We need all the support we can get.
On June 02 2012 18:44 Ayush_SCtoss wrote: I was rooting for Portugal, Netherlands and Germany for this this year's tournament since last year but they are in the same group lmfao >.>
Root for Denmark then. We need all the support we can get.
On June 02 2012 18:44 Ayush_SCtoss wrote: I was rooting for Portugal, Netherlands and Germany for this this year's tournament since last year but they are in the same group lmfao >.>
Root for Denmark then. We need all the support we can get.
On June 01 2012 20:23 iMonAhorsE wrote: i think italy and france are severely underrated, i would bet that one of the 2 will be in the final
I think they are a little bit underrated in the media, but the other coaches and teams rate them quite highly. I bet no one wants to face Italy in the ko-phase, they are solid team that most of the times performs well at big tournaments and are hard to beat. Spain for example only beat them in a penatly shoot out 4 years ago. They had a bad WC 2 years ago, so therefor the expectations aren't as high as usual. That's not a bad thing for them. As far as France is concerned everybody knows that they have great individual players, but they had those great players in the past as well and couldn't deliver, mainly because they weren't a team and had too many big egos. As of late they seem to have become more of a unit and if that's the case they will be one of the contenders for the title. Löw for example already stated that France could very well win this EC in his opinion.
But Laurent Blanc said few days ago : "This team is not ready".
I wouldn't expect much from France. Spain or Germany for the win imo.
BTW nobody expected Greece in 2004. It's football, everything is possible and it's why we love this sport ^^. .
With a squad like the one France has they should at the least be considered contenders. You don't have to necessarily be favorites to win it.
I believe its where the term Dark horse comes into play.
On June 02 2012 14:39 Lyter wrote: so russia smashed italy 3-0 yesterday apparently, anyone watch it? I know it was just a friendly etc but still you don't want to get raped
I was like "wtf"
Apparently we scored all goals we should have scored against Lithuania. :D Italy was meh, probably due to scandalous atmosphere around all Italian football now. And we, for once, played normally.
Italy played well in the first half and in the start of the second half but they were sloppy with all the chances they got. The first half could have ended 3-1 in favor of the Italians. But in the second half the Russians got stronger and finally they were USING their chances. Also the second Italian goalkeeper isn't unblameable, remember that all 3 goals happened in the second half when he came in for Buffon.
On June 02 2012 17:51 Censured wrote: Haha Czech republic lost against Hungary yesterday, my guess we will lose every match in our group. Well, I will be rooting for Netherlands anyways... (as every year)
You were unlucky though. I mean they scored a freekick where no one was ready. Cech was setting up his wall and they took it. Very unlucky
Anyone watched the animated shorts on the guardian? Give a little history of country's successes and failures in tournaments, they've only released three so far but they're pretty good.
With all that injuries it will be far from easy for England. France are favorite to win the group anyway and Sweden and Ukraine are no walk-overs either.
On June 02 2012 17:51 Censured wrote: Haha Czech republic lost against Hungary yesterday, my guess we will lose every match in our group. Well, I will be rooting for Netherlands anyways... (as every year)
I still remember watching Holland vs Czech Republic 2-3 in 2004, one of the best games in Euro Cup history.
I was a huge fan of the Czech team in 04. Baros was good, Nedved was in his prime and Koller was a tank. The Czechs even beat Germany with their B-squad in the third game of the groups. It's a shame Nedved got injured in the semi-final against Greece. I'm of the opinion that if he didn't go off the Czechs probably would have broken the Greek defense down. Stupid silver goal bullshit...
On June 04 2012 00:37 BeaTeR wrote: feel sad for cahill i thought he will improve his teamwork with terry and cole during euro...
why another liverpool player lol? hodgson wtf, why not richards...
A better question is, "Why not Rio Ferdinand?"
Unfortunately, I already know why: Because John Terry is a fucking racist cunt. It makes no sense to punish Rio for something Terry did, especially when Rio is a better defender than him anyway.
lol why so mad ferdinand was awful this season. terry, cahill, lescot, jagielka > rio though i agree he would be a better option than kelly
On June 04 2012 00:37 BeaTeR wrote: feel sad for cahill i thought he will improve his teamwork with terry and cole during euro...
why another liverpool player lol? hodgson wtf, why not richards...
A better question is, "Why not Rio Ferdinand?"
Unfortunately, I already know why: Because John Terry is a fucking racist cunt. It makes no sense to punish Rio for something Terry did, especially when Rio is a better defender than him anyway.
lol why so mad ferdinand was awful this season. terry, cahill, lescot, jagielka > rio though i agree he would be a better option than kelly
Why? Because Terry is a blight on English football. I sincerely hope he falls under the team bus.
I disagree with your view on those players being better than Ferdinand, but it doesn't really matter since he is definitely better than Kelly.
LOL your funny.
1. Reason kelly goes is for cover as RB. 2. We have Jagielka Lescott Smalling Terry CBs, thats 4, way more than enough. 3. RBs we have Johnson and Kelly 4. Most of the other cunts for England told Hodgson i don't want to be picked if im reserve = they should all be shot and disowned as English citizens for not playing for there country. 5. Reason JT > Rio, is because Rio is injured every other game JT is not.
On June 03 2012 23:42 femputer wrote: Anyone watched the animated shorts on the guardian? Give a little history of country's successes and failures in tournaments, they've only released three so far but they're pretty good.
On June 03 2012 23:53 NuclearJudas wrote: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK, I had Cahill in my fantasy team. England not looking good after all the injuries (and Rooney being out for two games).
On June 04 2012 00:37 BeaTeR wrote: feel sad for cahill i thought he will improve his teamwork with terry and cole during euro...
why another liverpool player lol? hodgson wtf, why not richards...
A better question is, "Why not Rio Ferdinand?"
Unfortunately, I already know why: Because John Terry is a fucking racist cunt. It makes no sense to punish Rio for something Terry did, especially when Rio is a better defender than him anyway.
lol why so mad ferdinand was awful this season. terry, cahill, lescot, jagielka > rio though i agree he would be a better option than kelly
Why? Because Terry is a blight on English football. I sincerely hope he falls under the team bus.
I disagree with your view on those players being better than Ferdinand, but it doesn't really matter since he is definitely better than Kelly.
LOL your funny.
1. Reason kelly goes is for cover as RB. 2. We have Jagielka Lescott Smalling Terry CBs, thats 4, way more than enough. 3. RBs we have Johnson and Kelly 4. Most of the other cunts for England told Hodgson i don't want to be picked if im reserve = they should all be shot and disowned as English citizens for not playing for there country. 5. Reason JT > Rio, is because Rio is injured every other game JT is not.
1) Cahill wasn't there as a RB. A CB out should mean a CB in. 2) Smalling is not going, he is injured. 3) Johnson, Kelly AND Phil Jones. 4) It is reasonable to want to spend time with your family instead of wasting your time on the back-up list. 5) Rio played more games this season than he has in any other recent season.
Was Jones then not Smalling same player imo. But take out Smalling say Jones instead. there is 4 CBs going and now we have 2 proper RBs as Jones was going as RB cover it looked.
On June 04 2012 02:24 Lyter wrote: Could anyone enlighten me with Muller's status in the german squad? Does he start these days? Or benchwarmer?
not clear yet, depends on opponent I guess. There are alot of alternatives in the offensive midfield. My feeling is that he's going to play usually and if it's not going well maybe Reus or Götze will be switched in. But as I've said I'm not sure... against Israel(which is the best indicator we have) Reus came in after 45 mins
Ignoring the guys obvious hate for Terry, Rio isn't going because of himself. Constantly feeding the media and always has an agenda to get the england captaincy back. Made himself unpickable. There is a reason Gerrard was made captain and Rio has never even been picked again. If Terry is so bad why do the managers stick by him and not Rio. But don't let your bias stop you
Being a fan of neither Chelsea nor United, Terry is in my opinion definitely the better defender, although he does silly shit sometimes. Cahill is a huge setback, as he worked well with Terry. England will finish third in their group now, I think. 1. France 2. Sweden 3. England 3. Ukraine
On June 04 2012 02:24 Lyter wrote: Could anyone enlighten me with Muller's status in the german squad? Does he start these days? Or benchwarmer?
not clear yet, depends on opponent I guess. There are alot of alternatives in the offensive midfield. My feeling is that he's going to play usually and if it's not going well maybe Reus or Götze will be switched in. But as I've said I'm not sure... against Israel(which is the best indicator we have) Reus came in after 45 mins
I'm pretty sure Müller is in the starting formation. He and Podolski on the wings are trying to get some nice crosses to Gomez ( Klose) They will eventuelly get replaced by Reus / Schürrle at 60-70 mins into the game
On June 04 2012 02:24 Lyter wrote: Could anyone enlighten me with Muller's status in the german squad? Does he start these days? Or benchwarmer?
not clear yet, depends on opponent I guess. There are alot of alternatives in the offensive midfield. My feeling is that he's going to play usually and if it's not going well maybe Reus or Götze will be switched in. But as I've said I'm not sure... against Israel(which is the best indicator we have) Reus came in after 45 mins
I'm pretty sure Müller is in the starting formation. He and Podolski on the wings are trying to get some nice crosses to Gomez ( Klose) They will eventuelly get replaced by Reus / Schürrle at 60-70 mins into the game
Group A: Poland, then it's a close call between Czech and Russia but I'd bet on Russia for now. I really hope Poland goes through as one of the tournament hosts since Ukraine is very weak in my opinion.
Group B: Jeez, under normal circumstances Germany and the Netherlands battle for the top spot. Portugal doesn't seem to be in good shape at the moment at all and Denmark is solid overall.
Group C: Spain should win this group easily. I don't rate Croatia as strong as in 2008, Ireland are good at defending but lacking some power upfront. As for Italy it depends on how the recent betting scandals in the Italian league affect the team. Then again they claimed the title in 2006 after numerous scandals and Juventus' demotion into Serie B. So Spain takes first and Italy second.
Group D: Sorry for the Ukrainian hosts but I see no way of getting through even playing vs mediocre teams like England and Sweden. To be fair England suffers alot of injuries now. Lampard and Gerrard never works so this is not as bad as it seems for now. Sweden has one of the most overrated players in the world in their squad but they are solid overall so it's a close call between England and Sweden to make it through. France should win this group in my opinion. Despite their unimpressive qualification they have shown decent performances in the past couple of months after massive changes in their roster.
Quarterfinals:
Poland < Netherlands (altho I'd never underestimate the home crowd advantage)
Germany > Russia
Spain > England
France > Italy
Semis:
Netherlands < Spain
Germany > France
Finals:
Germany - Spain: I have no clue who wins this. Spain is a bit weakened after they lost Villa and Puyol but that's the finals I am hoping for cos this seems to be the new rivalry of the recent years and I'm exited to see if Germany can overcome his nemesis Spain.
haha, that is more or less an upsetless bracket prediction you got there. Just think of last Euro. Who would have predicted Russia to beat Netherlands, or Croatia to win the group ahead of Germany, Turkey to reach semi? I hope to see some juicy upsets this Euro as well
If Modric plays great, we can win the whole thing, if he's terrible we can finish 4th in group. Jelavic is our only other player with class similar to Modric. Reiko mentioned Srna and Olic, but those are bad, one-dimensional footballers.
Other solid players we have are Rakitić and Ćorluka, others are average.
On June 04 2012 20:35 niteReloaded wrote: If Modric plays great, we can win the whole thing, if he's terrible we can finish 4th in group. Jelavic is our only other player with class similar to Modric. Reiko mentioned Srna and Olic, but those are bad, one-dimensional footballers.
Other solid players we have are Rakitić and Ćorluka, others are average.
On June 04 2012 20:16 don_kyuhote wrote: haha, that is more or less an upsetless bracket prediction you got there. Just think of last Euro. Who would have predicted Russia to beat Netherlands, or Croatia to win the group ahead of Germany, Turkey to reach semi? I hope to see some juicy upsets this Euro as well
Russia beat Netherlands last Euro as well? Missed a lot of that tournament because of travelling (I remember them humiliating Sweden all too well though). I think the Russians will be this Euro's upset as well. I also see a lot of upset potential in Group D, as I think France will advance but don't think England is a sure bet for second at all (Italy could easily get knocked out by Croatia as well). The only real big upsets, in my mind, would be Spain not advancing or Denmark/Ireland advancing.
On June 04 2012 19:25 GoooN wrote: Sweden has one of the most overrated players in the world in their squad
Okay, I'll bite. I assume you're speaking of the top scorer of the Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimović, who until this year had an insane run of winning the premier league of every nation he was in since 2001? He's hyped to the high heavens here in Sweden, but you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that he's actually a bad player. He's world class for sure, but has struggled in international games for a pretty long time. I can definitely see him scoring on Ukraine and England, and even France. It's time for some Giant Killing. :D I'm obviously a bit biased but whatever. *Sweden cap off*
As for the rest of your post, I mostly agree. I have Germany beating Spain in the final, but I can definitely see Spain be eliminated by a hot Netherlands with Van Persie in good form.
On June 04 2012 02:24 Lyter wrote: Could anyone enlighten me with Muller's status in the german squad? Does he start these days? Or benchwarmer?
not clear yet, depends on opponent I guess. There are alot of alternatives in the offensive midfield. My feeling is that he's going to play usually and if it's not going well maybe Reus or Götze will be switched in. But as I've said I'm not sure... against Israel(which is the best indicator we have) Reus came in after 45 mins
I'm pretty sure Müller is in the starting formation. He and Podolski on the wings are trying to get some nice crosses to Gomez ( Klose) They will eventuelly get replaced by Reus / Schürrle at 60-70 mins into the game
I tend to agree that Löw is going to play it safe with Podolski and Müller. Seing that you're German, I got some questions for you (and others):
- Do you think Reus will be the first pick replacing Müller, instead of Götze? - To me it seems like Podolski/Schürrle are mainly used as left-wingers and Müller/Götze right-wingers. Would that be accurate or do you think Löw will switch it up? What about Reus? - Do you think Kroos will be used mainly as a substitution for Schweinsteiger and Khedira (or possibly starting instead or Khedira) or do you think he might be used as an attacking midfielder? - Million dollar question: Klose or Gomez in the starting lineup, who do you think Löw will choose?
- Million dollar question: Klose or Gomez in the starting lineup, who do you think Löw will choose?
Even though I don't know anything about current form of those two, as far as starting lineup goes, I find it hard to not see Klose. Whatever his club form may be, that guy just knows how to turn the switch on when he plays for national team. Besides, I vividly remember seeing Gomez starting in last Euro, and that was pretty aweful
- Million dollar question: Klose or Gomez in the starting lineup, who do you think Löw will choose?
Even though I don't know anything about current form of those two, as far as starting lineup goes, I find it hard to not see Klose. Whatever his club form may be, that guy just knows how to turn the switch on when he plays for national team. Besides, I vividly remember seeing Gomez starting in last Euro, and that was pretty aweful
Based on past performance in the national team it'd be an easy pick for sure. Gomez scored second most goals in both Bundesliga and Champions League though, whereas Klose comes from an average season in Serie A, so you'd wonder at what point Gomez becomes the #1 man for the starting lineup. However, it seems Klose would be the safer pick and when it comes to championship play, safe is often the way to go.
On June 04 2012 02:24 Lyter wrote: Could anyone enlighten me with Muller's status in the german squad? Does he start these days? Or benchwarmer?
not clear yet, depends on opponent I guess. There are alot of alternatives in the offensive midfield. My feeling is that he's going to play usually and if it's not going well maybe Reus or Götze will be switched in. But as I've said I'm not sure... against Israel(which is the best indicator we have) Reus came in after 45 mins
I'm pretty sure Müller is in the starting formation. He and Podolski on the wings are trying to get some nice crosses to Gomez ( Klose) They will eventuelly get replaced by Reus / Schürrle at 60-70 mins into the game
I tend to agree that Löw is going to play it safe with Podolski and Müller. Seing that you're German, I got some questions for you (and others):
- Do you think Reus will be the first pick replacing Müller, instead of Götze?
yes, Götze is just not fit. i don't know, but it seems that he gained so much weight when he was injured. I saw a picture of his naked upper body from the locker room celebrations 1 month ago, and he was pretty fat, no abs visible whatsoever.
On June 05 2012 00:10 Sonic Death Monkey wrote: Another question about the German team, after the game against Israel, isn't it pretty clear the defense will look like this:
Boateng - Mertesacker - Badstuber - Lahm
I don't see why Löw would play that defense for 90 minutes in the last match before the Euro otherwise.
as a bayern fan i am still hoping that Badstuber and Hummels will play central defenders and not Mertesacker who was injured for 4 months or so.
Mertesacker and Badstuber are too similar imo. Badstuber + Hummels or Badstuber + Boateng would be perfect.
But if Boateng plays central defender, schmelzer plays left back and schmelzer is so bad, that hopefully boateng will play right back, lahm left back and badstuber + hummels centre backs.
Just an interesting fun stat: Germany seemed to have most trouble in their 2nd game of the group stage during the last decade or so.
2010 = lost to Serbia 1-0 2008 = lost to Croatia 2-1 2006 = Beat Poland with last minute goal 1-0 2004 = tied Latvia 0-0 2002 = tied Ireland 1-1 2000 = lost to England 1-0 1998 = tied Yugoslavia 2-2
All of a sudden, I feel like Netherlands will beat the Germans or at least get a tie, haha.
On June 04 2012 23:39 Sonic Death Monkey wrote: - Do you think Reus will be the first pick replacing Müller, instead of Götze? - To me it seems like Podolski/Schürrle are mainly used as left-wingers and Müller/Götze right-wingers. Would that be accurate or do you think Löw will switch it up? What about Reus? - Do you think Kroos will be used mainly as a substitution for Schweinsteiger and Khedira (or possibly starting instead or Khedira) or do you think he might be used as an attacking midfielder? - Million dollar question: Klose or Gomez in the starting lineup, who do you think Löw will choose?
- This is tough to answer. Götze has been injured for a while now and Reus looked pretty good in the test game. However, Löw tried Reus as a striker - so it is possible he will play him behind Klose or Gomez to be a little less offensive (with Müller or Götze in the CM) - Podolski/Schürrle are pure left-wingers (with Podolski being able to play as striker as well, tho very unlikely in the national team nowadays). With Müller and Götze it's not that easy. Both seem to be very versatile in both club and german national team - playing pretty much all positions in the midfield and Müller even as a striker. - I don't see Kroos starting instead of Khedira. Kroos played a decent season for bayern, but it seems like the finals losses got to his head. He also played really badly in the tests. I don't know how good Schweinsteiger is in shape right now, but I definitely see him starting (he's very important for the team) and if Löw plays two defensive midfielders (quite likely), Khedira will definitely start as well. You never know with Löw tho, maybe he'll start as an offensive midfielder, but I'd be surprised if Löw would rather play Kroos than Götze/Reus. - I'm pretty sure he will choose Gomez for the first game(s), although it wouldn't surprise me if that proved to be a mistake. I don't know what it is with gomez, but he just doesn't play well at all in the german national team. Yet. Klose can play anything from okay to fucking awesome in a cup, but he never had a complete breakdown like gomez.
On June 05 2012 00:10 Sonic Death Monkey wrote: Another question about the German team, after the game against Israel, isn't it pretty clear the defense will look like this:
Boateng - Mertesacker - Badstuber - Lahm
I don't see why Löw would play that defense for 90 minutes in the last match before the Euro otherwise.
That's most likely what it's gonna be, yeah. Might as well be Hummels instead of Mertesacker, tho.
On June 04 2012 20:35 niteReloaded wrote: If Modric plays great, we can win the whole thing, if he's terrible we can finish 4th in group. Jelavic is our only other player with class similar to Modric. Reiko mentioned Srna and Olic, but those are bad, one-dimensional footballers.
Other solid players we have are Rakitić and Ćorluka, others are average.
Wow, I think there are like more than 4/5 players better than him in this Eurocup in his position. Shall we make the same predictions for the rest of the teams? Is Spain going to win 3 times this Eurocup based on it?
On June 04 2012 19:25 GoooN wrote: Sweden has one of the most overrated players in the world in their squad
Okay, I'll bite. I assume you're speaking of the top scorer of the Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimović, who until this year had an insane run of winning the premier league of every nation he was in since 2001? He's hyped to the high heavens here in Sweden, but you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that he's actually a bad player. He's world class for sure, but has struggled in international games for a pretty long time. I can definitely see him scoring on Ukraine and England, and even France. It's time for some Giant Killing. :D I'm obviously a bit biased but whatever. *Sweden cap off*
As for the rest of your post, I mostly agree. I have Germany beating Spain in the final, but I can definitely see Spain be eliminated by a hot Netherlands with Van Persie in good form.
Haha. He's good but I'm not a fan of his performances for Sweden
I see Boateng, Badstuber and Lahm for pretty safe bets if Lahm is on the left wing. Mertesacker/ Hummels ... .no idea
I think Reus before Götze on the wing. Götze seems to me more like a offensive midfield joker kind a guy
Özil Khedira - Schweinsteiger(Kroos) is basically set in stone if Schweinsteiger is up to it. Kroos will be Sub for him
I think Gomez before Klose, just because Gomez sometimes takes his time to make his goals, but he will make them sooner or later Klose just needs one chance, one shot or one header. But he clearly istn't fit for more than one half This sounds stupid, but the thing is, you can't put Gomez on in 80 min or sth, it doesn't work that way ^^
On June 04 2012 20:35 niteReloaded wrote: If Modric plays great, we can win the whole thing, if he's terrible we can finish 4th in group. Jelavic is our only other player with class similar to Modric. Reiko mentioned Srna and Olic, but those are bad, one-dimensional footballers.
Other solid players we have are Rakitić and Ćorluka, others are average.
Wow, I think there are like more than 4/5 players better than him in this Eurocup in his position. Shall we make the same predictions for the rest of the teams? Is Spain going to win 3 times this Eurocup based on it?
I obviously rate Modrić very highly, but I'm not saying he's better than for example Xavi, Iniesta, Silva or Ozil - he's equal to them in my book; better in some areas, worse in some. (incoming controversy? ^^) So, the same goes for all of those nations, if those guys are inspired, their whole teams play sooo much better.
My point was that without him, it will be tough for us. If he is inspired, and the other things are alligned (luck etc), we can go far, and even win - it's football after all, stranger things have happened.
I admire my countrymen who still believe in it, but when comparing the caliber of our players to our skilled opponents it is exceedingly hard to stay optimistic for Denmark's chances to advance.
I expect a humiliating massacre, but still have a sliver of hope that all of a sudden the underdog players in our less than impressive squad will all of a sudden rise to the occasion and impress. It would be a "Platinum league beats Grand Master" kinda surprise though...
It HAS happened before, but I'm having a hard time believing this time. Everything is up to this lad: + Show Spoiler +
It will be an awesome summer though regardless... Euros, Tour De France, Olympics, Wimbledon. "Du godeste!"
I think Gomez won't see a lot of playtime. Löw loves Klose and although he said that "starting 11" is overrated he seems totally set on some guys like Klose and Mertesacker. He might try to sub Gomez in for a few minutes but my guess is that we're gonna see Reus instead. Götze won't play. He's not that fit and Löw tried him as a defensive midfielder which he totally is not but yeah... At the moment there seem to be better alternatives although I think that Götze is one of the few who can magically turn things around.
Should everything go wrong for Germany... I'll be happy : )
On June 05 2012 01:54 smr wrote: I think Gomez won't see a lot of playtime. Löw loves Klose and although he said that "starting 11" is overrated he seems totally set on some guys like Klose and Mertesacker. He might try to sub Gomez in for a few minutes but my guess is that we're gonna see Reus instead. Götze won't play. He's not that fit and Löw tried him as a defensive midfielder which he totally is not but yeah... At the moment there seem to be better alternatives although I think that Götze is one of the few who can magically turn things around.
Should everything go wrong for Germany... I'll be happy : )
dude whats with the attitude? We'll takes this EZPZ
EDIT: And to the guy above... Tour de France? Seriously? Thats like playing D2 in the Open Battle.net if you know what i mean ^^
On June 04 2012 23:39 Sonic Death Monkey wrote: - Do you think Reus will be the first pick replacing Müller, instead of Götze? - To me it seems like Podolski/Schürrle are mainly used as left-wingers and Müller/Götze right-wingers. Would that be accurate or do you think Löw will switch it up? What about Reus? - Do you think Kroos will be used mainly as a substitution for Schweinsteiger and Khedira (or possibly starting instead or Khedira) or do you think he might be used as an attacking midfielder? - Million dollar question: Klose or Gomez in the starting lineup, who do you think Löw will choose?
1. probably yes. But still it depends on th eopponent. For very deep standing and well defending teams he's probably gonna switch in Reus because he said exactly that in an interview. he thinks Reus is great as a "vertical striker" who knows how to get/make space It's not even sure that Müller is going to play. Löw could use Schürrle instead, Götze definitely isn't up to the task yet, but he would otherwise be an alternative. 2. Schürrle has played on the right side against Switzerland, Götze was playing left side in a friendly match last year, you could even use Özil a bit more to the side and put Kroos as the 10. There are a lot of possibilities here. 3. Kroos was actually one of the best players against Israel, but still Khedira/Schweinsteiger has proven to be working very well And even as khedira isn't the most defensive player the German central defense needs some stabilisation. A job Khedira does way better. 4. Klose, since Gomez is just not the playing striker Löw prefers. klose is always going to work with the ball and develop the offensive play, for Gomez it's mostly that you need to give him the ball so he can score. It just doesn't fit the style Löw wants to play...
On June 04 2012 19:25 GoooN wrote: Sweden has one of the most overrated players in the world in their squad
Okay, I'll bite. I assume you're speaking of the top scorer of the Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimović, who until this year had an insane run of winning the premier league of every nation he was in since 2001? He's hyped to the high heavens here in Sweden, but you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that he's actually a bad player. He's world class for sure, but has struggled in international games for a pretty long time. I can definitely see him scoring on Ukraine and England, and even France. It's time for some Giant Killing. :D I'm obviously a bit biased but whatever. *Sweden cap off*
As for the rest of your post, I mostly agree. I have Germany beating Spain in the final, but I can definitely see Spain be eliminated by a hot Netherlands with Van Persie in good form.
Haha. He's good but I'm not a fan of his performances for Sweden
Are you a Swede? I'd agree he's overrated in Swedish media, according to which he's just a notch below Messi and Ronaldo, just because such headlines are what sell. Any Swedish player reaching the level he has would get the same hype. Not so sure he's overrated outside of Sweden, hard for me to tell but I would guess not.
On June 04 2012 20:35 niteReloaded wrote: If Modric plays great, we can win the whole thing, if he's terrible we can finish 4th in group. Jelavic is our only other player with class similar to Modric. Reiko mentioned Srna and Olic, but those are bad, one-dimensional footballers.
Other solid players we have are Rakitić and Ćorluka, others are average.
Wow, I think there are like more than 4/5 players better than him in this Eurocup in his position. Shall we make the same predictions for the rest of the teams? Is Spain going to win 3 times this Eurocup based on it?
I obviously rate Modrić very highly, but I'm not saying he's better than for example Xavi, Iniesta, Silva or Ozil - he's equal to them in my book; better in some areas, worse in some. (incoming controversy? ^^) So, the same goes for all of those nations, if those guys are inspired, their whole teams play sooo much better.
My point was that without him, it will be tough for us. If he is inspired, and the other things are alligned (luck etc), we can go far, and even win - it's football after all, stranger things have happened.
Even with the best Modric, getting out of group stage will be a surprise, not to say winning everything
On June 04 2012 20:35 niteReloaded wrote: If Modric plays great, we can win the whole thing, if he's terrible we can finish 4th in group. Jelavic is our only other player with class similar to Modric. Reiko mentioned Srna and Olic, but those are bad, one-dimensional footballers.
Other solid players we have are Rakitić and Ćorluka, others are average.
Wow, I think there are like more than 4/5 players better than him in this Eurocup in his position. Shall we make the same predictions for the rest of the teams? Is Spain going to win 3 times this Eurocup based on it?
I obviously rate Modrić very highly, but I'm not saying he's better than for example Xavi, Iniesta, Silva or Ozil - he's equal to them in my book; better in some areas, worse in some. (incoming controversy? ^^) So, the same goes for all of those nations, if those guys are inspired, their whole teams play sooo much better.
My point was that without him, it will be tough for us. If he is inspired, and the other things are alligned (luck etc), we can go far, and even win - it's football after all, stranger things have happened.
Even with the best Modric, getting out of group stage will be a surprise, not to say winning everything
Can't agree so. Croatia goes to every tourney being one of the 2nd tier or even 3rd tier team but they always do amazing. From the time of Davor Suker Croatia always have some techinique-gifted player in their team. Modric had proven himself at the Euro 2008 4 years ago, IRRC at the beginning of EURO 2008 most people didn't even give Croatia much chance of getting into the final 8, but they finish their group with 9 points including a win against Germany. They only lost to Turkey on the penalty shoot-out in the QF. If they didn't lose that Penalty shoot-out, they may earn a place in the final since there were some very good chance that they can beat Germany.
With all that said, I'd say Croatia to win the whole thing is kind of not realistic. They can get out of the group if they can secure a win against Ireland and get a good result vs Italy.
i dont know why hodgson didn't call up scholes, i mean sure he's old and shit but he can definitely play really well for at least one half ... england doesn't have any good playmaker at the moment, gerrard isn't completely on form. lampard was on a good roll but is now injured ... england's wings aren't that impressive either, so they can't rely on them to brute force their way to win anyway ... predicting another failure from the brits
On June 04 2012 20:35 niteReloaded wrote: If Modric plays great, we can win the whole thing, if he's terrible we can finish 4th in group. Jelavic is our only other player with class similar to Modric. Reiko mentioned Srna and Olic, but those are bad, one-dimensional footballers.
Other solid players we have are Rakitić and Ćorluka, others are average.
Wow, I think there are like more than 4/5 players better than him in this Eurocup in his position. Shall we make the same predictions for the rest of the teams? Is Spain going to win 3 times this Eurocup based on it?
I obviously rate Modrić very highly, but I'm not saying he's better than for example Xavi, Iniesta, Silva or Ozil - he's equal to them in my book; better in some areas, worse in some. (incoming controversy? ^^) So, the same goes for all of those nations, if those guys are inspired, their whole teams play sooo much better.
My point was that without him, it will be tough for us. If he is inspired, and the other things are alligned (luck etc), we can go far, and even win - it's football after all, stranger things have happened.
Even with the best Modric, getting out of group stage will be a surprise, not to say winning everything
Can't agree so. Croatia goes to every tourney being one of the 2nd tier or even 3rd tier team but they always do amazing. From the time of Davor Suker Croatia always have some techinique-gifted player in their team.
Davor Suker was not the ONLY gifted player on that time. And they certainly werent a 2nd 3rd tier team going into 98, its not like the players popped out of nowhere they did well post independance because the eastern european block was just really good back then and they just played under different flags for bigger countries.
It took a red card for Germany to beat them in Euro 96, (which was a bit of a snooze fest) and teams like the Czech Republic, Croatia, Yugoslavia hell even Denmark with the Laudrups were really good early 90's.
When you break of into smaller countries like that with that its hard to keep generations going unless your like the Dutch or the French having established footballing traditions and systems while getting a fair bit of second or third generation immigration talent now and then to supplement aswell.
As Croatia is now Modric could have the tournament of his life and they might not go through. Although Id like to see them do well.
Its been in decline since the turn of the century.
The odds seem quite fair to me. If anything I think Netherlands and France is a bit undervalued, can't imagine Spain and Germany being that far ahead. And although I'll be rooting for Germany (as long as they're not playing Sweden), I think Spain deserves a higher % than Germany.
As a non European, I'm hoping for an Italy win, however unlikely that is XD. I'm guessing though that it'll be Germany/Netherlands (more likely Netherlands) to take the whole thing.
Yep all the more reason to be impressed by Klose. He grew up in the old ways where a striker doesn't have to play much with the team yet he is such a good passing player, it's like he has played this style all his life.
On June 05 2012 17:38 Ysellian wrote: The last time Italy did well was during a scandal too. Perhaps scandals is just what the national team needs.
But the quality of this Italian team pales in comparison to 2006 one by far. Last time Greece did well was when they played in the opening game. Perhaps opening game is just what Greece needs
Totally aside from the game, you watch out for your governments! Big events like that, that occupy the minds of people, are often used to progress laws, that normally would cause an outrage! "Panem et circenses" and you are in it!
PS: Ok, probably not the USA, because nobody there bothers about soccer/football *duck*
On June 05 2012 16:33 Sonic Death Monkey wrote: The odds seem quite fair to me. If anything I think Netherlands and France is a bit undervalued, can't imagine Spain and Germany being that far ahead. And although I'll be rooting for Germany (as long as they're not playing Sweden), I think Spain deserves a higher % than Germany.
I think the Netherlands is properly valued, the team has had pretty big problems in defense against even weak teams. In friendlies against better teams they lost control of the midfield completely, which is very uncomfortable for a Dutch team, who traditionally rely on possesion.
The good news is that our offense was looking very strong and fresh againt Northern Ireland, players were finding eachother quite well. We probably have the best selection of wingers and strikers in the tournament, and that might go a long way. If Sneijder can find top form, he is one of the absolute best at what he does. Alot is going to depend on the individual skill of key players.
I have the feeling this year is going to be very hit or miss. I don't think they stand a very good chance against Germany in the pools, and Portugal has proven to be our kryptonite in the past.
For me Germany is the favorite for the tournament, even over Spain. Will be rooting for them if and when Netherlands goes out. I think they are playing the best football right now.
The game against Northern-Ireland was good for self confidence but other than that you can't really judge on our form yet. Sneijder hasn't performed well since 2010 and him saying he's in top shape is still making me have doubts. I really hope he exceeds his own skill but I really doubt he's going to be playing great.
Robben is playing worse than before. He can't even go past a defender anymore. He's very predictable now and against Northern Ireland you could see how he was struggling with all due respect low level defenders of Northern Ireland compared to Robben.
Sneijder is like 50/50 because anything he says you shouldn't believe untill he proves it. Always saying that everything is going to be fine and that Holland will own in the Euro Cup. Very skeptical about him.
RVP is obviously in top shape and Affelay well he's just good and has shown that in the past 2 games he doesn't need long to get back into top shape. These 2 players will really make the difference imo.
On June 05 2012 17:51 Vaelone wrote: Not sure if it was mentioned here yet but it was announced that Bayern forward Ivica Olic is out of Euro due to thigh injury.
Surely pretty bad hit for Croatia? I'm super clueless about their team and how big Olic is for Croatia but I'd imagine pretty big.
Edit: Replaced by Nikola Kalinic.
Olic is pretty big yeah, in terms of work rate and team spirit, which is something we've been famous for and now surprisingly lack. He's an easy going guy, happy about life, great family, had a great career, and just positive overall and his energy rubs off on everyone else, so it's a big loss even tho his technical qualities aren't better than the rest of our forwards.
This is the team im going to go into game one with! + Show Spoiler +
Went for M'villa on bench as he seems to pick up an injury in last game, have 3 forwards i hope will score 2-3 goals in group games mainly and will use subs later on. Back 4 i added Agger as he was cheap value for a player who will play every game.
He started both games if im correct in the warm up ones. Him and Silva beat South Korea on there own in the 1st half. If anything Mata > Silva that game too.
Croatia enters the EURO with hopes of football magic doing it's thing. Although Spain are the clear favorites of the group and no one has any crazy expectations, there is always that hope that we can do something because we have a good team. Italy has the better team on paper, but you have to take into consideration that we haven't lost an official game to them since 1945. And there's also Ireland which could be nasty, but we need that win in order for us to have a better chance of qualifying for the next round. It should also be noted that we lost two important players due to injury, Ivica Olić who plays forward for Wolfsburg as of this season ( he played for Bayern Munchen and in the Champions League final vs Chelsea), and Dejan Lovren who plays centre back for Olympique Lyonnais. Lovren was injured for some time, but the big blow was the injury of Olić in the last friendly fixture. He will surely be missed, as he decided more than one game for Croatia ( including a deciding goal vs Italy in the South Korea world cup ), and was one of the key players in our attacking field due to his speed and work rate. Sadly, this Euro was supposed to be his last appearance for the national team, and he was very sad and frustrated when he found out that his injury is more severe than expected.
Goalkeepers
Our goalkeepers are pretty decent, as we have one young talented with great potential and two experienced ones. Stipe Pletikosa, age 33, Rostov(RUS) - he's our oldest goalkeeper, has lots of experience on the international level, and also kept the Croatian goal safe for many years now. Ivan Kelava, age 24, Dinamo Zagreb(CRO) - he has yet to appear in the national team lineup, he is young and has shown lots of potential, and will certainly become Croatia's top keeper in the following years.
Defenders
Our defensive line is pretty solid, although it was not what it used to be, and it is also weakened by the absence of Lovren who is a class defender. Josip Šimunić, age 34, Dinamo Zagreb(CRO) - our most experienced player, he played many games for the national team and is the commander of defense. Even though he is kinda old and not on the level he was some time ago, he is still a force to be reckoned with and can still show a good game. And he also has excellent technique for a defender. Vedran Ćorluka, age 26, Bayer Leverkusen(GER) - one of our top defenders, he has a lot of international experience and is a very solid player, he played for Manchester City and Tottenham before going to Germany, playing many games for all of the teams, and will be one of our key players in the defense. Danijel Pranjić, age 30, Bayern Munich(GER) - he is a very special player and I don't really consider him a defender, because his natural position is wing forward. He is pretty fast and has good technique, but the problem is he didn't play much for Bayern, so we have yet to see how will he perform on the tournament. Still, a great player who deserved a spot on the team. Domagoj Vida, age 23, Dinamo Zagreb(CRO) - one of our young potentials, he showed very good games for Dinamo in the last seasons, and is only a matter of time before he gets picked up by a bigger team. Could show some nice games on the tournament if called up.
Midfielders
Ah our midfield... Sometimes they excel and sometimes they fail miserably. We have some very good players in the midfield, but really it all depends on a lot of factors. If they manage to perform well, then we have a chance vs any team. Luka Modrić, age 26, Tottenham Hotspur(ENG) - ah Luka Modrić... Some say he is underrated, some say he is overrated. The fact remains, he is one of the key players in Tottenham and one of the best midfielders in the Premiership. his performances for Croatia range from mediocre to brilliant, but he never seems to play consistently good when it comes to the national team. We are all hoping for him to shine on the Euro, because his quality could decide the games in our favor. Darijo Srna, age 30, Shakhtar Donetsk(UKR)(C) - one of the most experienced players in the team, he played countless games for his club and national team, and is also captain in both of them. What's interesting about him is that he was wanted by many teams across Europe but he never left, because the Shaktar boss absolutely loves him and pays him more money than any of these clubs ever could ( except City maybe XD ). His wing runs are still dangerous, as well as his crosses, and if he connects some good games he could very well bring us victory. He is also pretty good at free kicks. Ognjen Vukojević, age 28, Dynamo Kyiv(UKR) - a very solid defensive midfielder, he proved himself in Dynamo Kyiev and for the national team, making him a very valuable player for our side. He is not brilliant when it comes to offense, but defensively he is a very good player. Ivan Rakitić, age 24, Sevilla(ESP) - Rakitić is very young but he already racked up quite a few performances for the national team, and he proved himself to be a very good offensive midfielder. He also played consistently for Sevilla in Spain this season, and is certainly in form and ready to prove his worth on the world stage. Could be one of the "discoveries" of the Euro. Niko Kranjčar, age 27, Tottenham Hotspur(ENG) - one of the more experienced players, he had ups and downs during his career, and was unjustly not given enough play time in Tottenham. He is not the fastest or most agile players, but he has a killer shot and very good passes, and some of his goals are simply amazing. Perhaps now is the time for him to finally show everyone what he is made of.
Forwards
This is probably our strongest field, although it has been weakened with the injury of Ivica Olić. Still, the other players are quality material and some have world class potential. Nikica Jelavić, age 24, Everton(ENG) - the rising star of the Premiership, he has already proven his worth to the world and is steadily being recognized as a top striker. People already call him the new Davor Šuker because of his style which very much reminds of the Croatian legend. Everyone in Croatia is hoping for him to shine on the Euro, myself included Eduardo, age 29, Shakhtar Donetsk(UKR) - ah poor Eduardo. He was one of the most promising and exciting forwards in England until his unfortunate and nasty leg break by that fucking asshole, and he never seemed to fully recover from this injury. Still, he is a very good player with excellent technique, and his time is not over yet, so we may yet hope him doing some magic on the tournament. Mario Mandžukić, age 26, VfL Wolfsburg(GER) - a very promising striker, he has shown consistent performances in the Bundesliga, and some good games for the national team. We have yet to see him perform on a big tournament, hopefully in a good light.
That's about it, the general opinion in Croatia is that we should beat Ireland, have a very narrow game vs Italy, and try our best vs Spain. However, no one should count us out because this wouldn't be the first time we are the underdogs and then prove everyone wrong
On June 05 2012 20:26 Copymizer wrote: Any interesting news from our fellow countries squads here calm before the storm?
Huntelaar versus van Persie might be bit of trouble brewing. Allthough RVP is the superior football technician/tactician in my opinion Huntelaar is the better striker, but it does depend a lot on the wingers who will be playing (most probable: Afellay & Robben).
Benching Huntelaar was also the better option, because RVP seems to have a bigger ego and a certain stature to his person was created with Arsenal (where he was the best player and leader of the squad). So RVP might have left the squad if he was benched in favor of Huntelaar.
Huntelaar has told the Dutch press that he will do anything he can to help the Dutch squad to an EC victory, even from the bench. But i sincerely doubt he will keep his calm if RVP underperforms, like he did at the WC South Africa two years ago, in the first two groupstage matches. Feels to me van Marwijk has to walk on a thin line to keep The Hunter happy, but we will see
On June 05 2012 21:57 Da-Muffinman wrote: I finally set up my own fantasy Team and joined the TL League. Sadly all the Germans are very expensive, so I've gone with this: + Show Spoiler +
Damn that's one deadly team :O Very offensive team 3-4-3 I like it. Very risky but you can clearly see that your intention is to pressure and play on the opponent's half for as long as possible lol :p
On June 05 2012 17:58 kollin wrote: Come on England... sigh
This.
God knows how we're at 6% odds in that chart. Thanks to injuries and suspensions we're basically going to be playing the reserve team. Odds are we'll go 0-3 in our group.
As you say though, Come on England! Would dearly love to be surprised.
On June 05 2012 20:27 Pandemona wrote: He started both games if im correct in the warm up ones. Him and Silva beat South Korea on there own in the 1st half. If anything Mata > Silva that game too.
He started the Korea game, but not the China game. But that may not mean anything. It's difficult to predict lineups from pre-tournament friendlies. Iniesta didn't start either game, for instance.
#1 - Andreas Isaksson (30): "Isak" is our definite first choice. He's got very quick reflexes and can make some ridiculous saves. Unfortunately, he's not as solid as one would like the keeper of the national team to be. His handling leaves much to be desired, and his communication with the back four varies greatly, sometimes leading to goals for the other team. He needs to be at his best for this tournament for us, or we might go out 0-3. Thankfully he usually steps it up during big competitions, so hopefully he can do that again. The fact that PSV apparently wants to cut him loose after the season is definitely a bit worrying.
#12 - Johan Wiland (31): Very solid keeper with great reflexes. Was named in "The Team of the Week" once in the 2010-11 UEFA Champion's League.
#23 - Pär Hansson (25): First keeper for reigning Swedish champions, Helsingborgs IF. Haven't seen all too much of him, but I assume he's mostly here to see and learn, and is unlikely to play.
Defenders
#2 - Mikael Lustig (25): Looked like a great talent in his first season or two for Rosenborg, but has cooled down since. Transferred to Celtic where he has been injured and benched for some time. He has most likely lost his right back position due to his lack of playing time.
#3 - Olof Mellberg (34): One of the definitive leaders in the team. Has a heap of routine from playing for clubs like Racing Santander, Aston Villa and Juventus. The one player many look to for guidance and leadership, even after he resigned his captaincy.
#4 - Andreas Granqvist (27): Quite the late bloomer, he made some noise owning up in Groningen, earning himself a transfer to Genoa. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see much of him in Genoa, but he's been very good when given the chance in Sweden. Expect him to be the choice for right back ahead of Lustig. Goal.com named him as one of the players to watch out for.
#5 - Martin Olsson (24): Speedy defender with a good eye for crossing. Very offensively minded left back. Last season he played for Blackburn, who were sadly relegated, leading to him wanting out of the club. Was not super impressed from what I saw of him in the PL, but he looks like a solid mid-table club player, imo. He's been very solid in the national team and adds to the offensive power. Expect him to cause some trouble for his opponents come the Euro.
#13 - Jonas Olsson (29): Very underrated defender in my opinion. A defensive leader for Wigan, who he helped avoid relegation. Solid defender with good positioning. Most likely the starting centre back with Mellberg after Majstorovic's injury.
15 - Mikael Antonsson (31): Solid defender. Was a part of the Copenhagen team that made splashes in the Champion's League, but has since moved to Bologna. Good player to have as a Plan B.
17 - Behrang Safari (27): Was a very interesting young prospect but hasn't really turned into the player we hoped. Had a good season or two in Basel which earned him the left back position in the national team, but he literally threw that away. With a mindbogglingly stupid throw in, he gave the ball to Wesley Sneijder, who then passed the ball in to Afellay, who scored. A goal that looked like it would cost Sweden a spot at the European championship. Recently played in the friendly against Iceland and wans't all too bad, but he remains a worrisome defensive liability whenever he plays.
Midfielders
#6 - Rasmus Elm (24): Solid midfielder with excellent passing and amazing free-kicks. After good seasons in Erevidise side AZ Alkmaar, he is reportedly a main interest for several large clubs, including Liverpool. A very good player to have come in towards the end of games to take set pieces and such. Likely to start out on the bench.
#7 - Sebastian Larsson (26): A talent brought up in the Arsenal youth system. Left the Gunners due to too little playing time and joined Birmingham, where he became one o the club's most valuable players. He departed when they fell to the championship and joined Sunderland, where he scored on his debut. He's had an excellent debut season and has been a regular starter for the national team the last few years. Absolutely amazing crosser.
#8 - Anders Svensson (35): An incredibly experienced midfielder, Svensson oozes class. Great passer and set-piece specialist (Remember his free-kick against Argentina in 2002? I sure do). Brings so much to the team, and as vice-captain many look to him for inspiration. Has taken a more defensive position after the retirement of Tobias Linderoth. Almost never has bad games.
#9 - Kim Källström (29): Has always had to stand in the shade of Svensson, but in recent years have gotten the chance to play with him in the centre midfield. Great vision, passing and has a monstrous shot. Another great set-piece taker. 16 - Pontus Wernbloom (25): A warrior on the midfield. Has a temperament which could come to haunt him (I remember him getting into it with Balotelli during the U21 tourney a couple of years ago). Transferred to CSKA Moscow and managed to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Good defensive midfielder and strong personality on the pitch. Has shown off some great passing recently, among others a brilliant cross to Wilhelmsson during the last friendly against Iceland.
18 - Samuel Holmén (27): I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this pick. Holmén never impressed me, and just felt like a player that left for money. Apparently he's been good in Turkey, playing for Istanbul BB, so who knows. Doubt he'll make much of an impact.
#19 - Emir Bajrami (24): Very speedy and technical winger. Got his time in Twente destroyed by injuries and being benched. Looking to leave the club this summer. I can see him doing good in Italy or Spain. If he's in good shape, expect him to start and hopefully cause trouble for the opponents.
#21 - Christian Wilhelmsson (32): Such a wasted career this man has had. After showing great promise during his years in Anderlecht, he transferred to Nantes. Nantes loaned him left and right from Roma, to Bolton, to Deportivo, but none of the keepers wanted to hold on to him. He later left for Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal. After thinking he disappeared, he came back into the national team and has been consistently good the chances he's gotten. Definitely a wildcard for the opponents to look out for.
Forwards
#10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (30): Let's make no mistake about it; Sweden's chances in this tournament depend totally on "Ibra". One of the best Swedish players ever, he carries a ton of responsibility, especially so as he is the captain. I probably don't need to tell you about the amazing career this man has had. Currently playing in Milan, he was the top scorer for this season. He has recently given great performances in the national team which is something he's struggled with earlier. He can play as a deep-lying striker in more of a supplying role, or as the tip of the spear. Amazing technique, vision, passing and a great shot, Zlatan is one of the most versatile forwards in modern football. Deceptively quick for his size and incredibly strong, he's a big danger for every defence in the world.
#11 - Johan Elmander (31): The energizer bunny of the Swedish national team, he can seemingly run for days. Recent years he has begun scoring more regularly (yay for experience) and as such has become a bigger threat himself. One of the biggest team players in the team, and extremely valuable. Currently injured, so it's a race to become healthy for Elmander.
#14 - Tobias Hysén (30): Son of former Swedish national Glenn Hysén, Tobias has spent his entire career in Sweden, save for a year in Sunderland. Quick forward with an eye for goals. Not likely to get much playing time.
#20 - Ola Toivonen (25): Very strong attacker with a mighty shot. Tall and a big threat on corner with his heading ability. Likely to start beside Ibra if Elmander is still injured when the matches kick off.
#22 - Markus Rosenberg (29): Has not been given much of a chance in recent years due to bad form and few goals. Hasn't seemed very inspired to play for Sweden, but was selected after scoring some goals for Werder Bremen this season.
The Manager
Erik Hamrén (54): Just look at this handsome beast. After spending some years in Denmark and Norway as a coach, he was chosen for the Swedish national team. Has shown off some strategic wit lately, with some great substitutions resulting in goals and wins. Opted to change the Swedish line-up from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, and secured another championship qualification for Sweden, after finishing second in the group behind the Netherlands, beating them 3-2 and effectively ending their 17 game long winning streak.
I think Sweden should have a good chance of getting out of the group. Naturally England and France are great teams, but England is injury-plagued and France is a dark horse to take home the entire tournament, but both are definitely beatable. Ukraine should be a solid three-pointer in the opening game and will hopefully set the tone for a good Swedish tournament run.
On June 06 2012 04:50 Steveling wrote: Any polish can explain why did they all cheer for the Irish's team first training? Like 15k people gathered to watch them. lol
I'm not polish, but I think germany had its one and only public training today (attendance of 11k), might be the same for Ireland. I mean, if you don't get to visit a match, this might be your only chance to see those famous players living next door to you.
normally Germany plays such a bad pre-tournament season, that they dont end up in a favorite spot. When the Worldcup/Eurocup starts we somehow manage to improve from match to match and kinda force the wins. For this Eurocup, I fear, we might end up dying early, due to being a favorite and not "wanting it enough". Hopefully I`m wrong though.
On June 06 2012 04:47 sharkie wrote: Yeah France's only weakness the last 1-2 years were that Ribery was never in world class form for the national team, now he is.
And now France is very scary again.
Ribery isn't the best player on the team. Benzema is, then there is Lloris. The rest of the offense is pretty much Ribéry like with the sole difference being that Ribéry is either good or terrible while the rest hovers around bad or averagish good.
I'm unsure about how my back four should look in my fantasy team. I want to have a Greek centre back, so I went with Kyrgiakos Papadopoulos. Will he get regular playing time or should I switch? I'm not at all familiar with the Greek team nowadays. I did pick Ninis, who looks like an extremely interesting prospect.
As for France, they look scary as hell. Benzema and Ribery are in good form and Lloris is a damn monster. They've definitely emerged as a favourite to win it all, imo.
On June 06 2012 06:42 NuclearJudas wrote: I'm unsure about how my back four should look in my fantasy team. I want to have a Greek centre back, so I went with Kyrgiakos Papadopoulos. Will he get regular playing time or should I switch? I'm not at all familiar with the Greek team nowadays. I did pick Ninis, who looks like an extremely interesting prospect.
As for France, they look scary as hell. Benzema and Ribery are in good form and Lloris is a damn monster. They've definitely emerged as a favourite to win it all, imo.
K.Papadopoulos will play as a starter. Excellent pick, he might go to a top club even this summer despite his young age. Ninis on the other hand, while good, is competing with 2 other youngsters for a starting position so dunno.
On June 06 2012 06:42 NuclearJudas wrote: I'm unsure about how my back four should look in my fantasy team. I want to have a Greek centre back, so I went with Kyrgiakos Papadopoulos. Will he get regular playing time or should I switch? I'm not at all familiar with the Greek team nowadays. I did pick Ninis, who looks like an extremely interesting prospect.
As for France, they look scary as hell. Benzema and Ribery are in good form and Lloris is a damn monster. They've definitely emerged as a favourite to win it all, imo.
K.Papadopoulos will play as a starter. Excellent pick, he might go to a top club even this summer despite his young age. Ninis on the other hand, while good, is competing with 2 other youngsters for a starting position so dunno.
Yeah, I'm probably going to wait until the final day to decide where to put Ninis. I'll either bench him while going 4-4-2, or play him in a 3-5-2.
This group is rather boring and the easiest group out of the four, beside from Greece, all other teams have a good chance to advance to the quarterfinal. Game to watch should be Czech vs Poland, Poland vs Russia.
Oh cmon man. Euro ex-champions (ye Greece playing "antifootball" but still they can be very tough to break), Poland aka homelanders. not to say bout Russia who pwned Italy hard 3:0 like few days ago etc Yes random is silly, but still it's euro final part - there are NO boring groups
it's much better within the context of the full scene, but i think people would be confused about what the fuck i was talking about if i linked to this video
Can somebody tell me what the Polish starting team is most likely to look like? I am a big fan of Lewandoski, and because of their group he is even my pick for the top scorer this year.
On June 06 2012 18:10 Sareth wrote: Can somebody tell me what the Polish starting team is most likely to look like? I am a big fan of Lewandoski, and because of their group he is even my pick for the top scorer this year.
Lewandowski has been in form this season (22 goals for Borussia). He could score maybe 3-4 times in that group and that would place him pretty high even if Poland was eliminated immediately. But maybe not top scorer, that's a bit much.
On June 06 2012 18:10 Sareth wrote: Can somebody tell me what the Polish starting team is most likely to look like? I am a big fan of Lewandoski, and because of their group he is even my pick for the top scorer this year.
Lewandowski has been in form this season (22 goals for Borussia). He could score maybe 3-4 times in that group and that would place him pretty high even if Poland was eliminated immediately. But maybe not top scorer, that's a bit much.
Mad props for knowing so much about our team. I expect the starting eleven to be exactly the same.
As for Lewandowski, he has weaker partners to give him passes than in Borussia, except from Blaszczykowski and Piszczek, so he won't be as scary. (hope that I will be wrong)
I predict our matches to go: win vs Greece, lose/draw(plx) against Russia, and last game for all or nothing.I have high hopes though. Poolllsskkkkaaaaa biało-czerwoni!
This sub-forum is awesome! I love playing soccer but being in the US it's hard to follow professionally here unless you have the necessary cable stations. Wouldn't have even known about this awesome event otherwise believe it or not.
Looks like all the games will be on espn360.com though (might only be accessible in the US) so I'll be trying to catch as many of the matches as as I can.
On June 06 2012 18:10 Sareth wrote: Can somebody tell me what the Polish starting team is most likely to look like? I am a big fan of Lewandoski, and because of their group he is even my pick for the top scorer this year.
Lewandowski has been in form this season (22 goals for Borussia). He could score maybe 3-4 times in that group and that would place him pretty high even if Poland was eliminated immediately. But maybe not top scorer, that's a bit much.
Mad props for knowing so much about our team. I expect the starting eleven to be exactly the same.
As for Lewandowski, he has weaker partners to give him passes than in Borussia, except from Blaszczykowski and Piszczek, so he won't be as scary. (hope that I will be wrong)
I predict our matches to go: win vs Greece, lose/draw(plx) against Russia, and last game for all or nothing.I have high hopes though. Poolllsskkkkaaaaa biało-czerwoni!
Not really, because GreuBkreuts is gowno and Kagawa is a ball hog. Lewys problem is going against better cb's. Poland play Greece first and im worried because Greece has some dirty cb's. You remember how Papadopoulos cracked open subotics head? If Poland lose lewy, they have no one to replace him with. Sobiech is too inexperienced and Brozek is a joke.
#1 - Andreas Isaksson (30): "Isak" is our definite first choice. He's got very quick reflexes and can make some ridiculous saves. Unfortunately, he's not as solid as one would like the keeper of the national team to be. His handling leaves much to be desired, and his communication with the back four varies greatly, sometimes leading to goals for the other team. He needs to be at his best for this tournament for us, or we might go out 0-3. Thankfully he usually steps it up during big competitions, so hopefully he can do that again. The fact that PSV apparently wants to cut him loose after the season is definitely a bit worrying.
#12 - Johan Wiland (31): Very solid keeper with great reflexes. Was named in "The Team of the Week" once in the 2010-11 UEFA Champion's League.
#23 - Pär Hansson (25): First keeper for reigning Swedish champions, Helsingborgs IF. Haven't seen all too much of him, but I assume he's mostly here to see and learn, and is unlikely to play.
Defenders
#2 - Mikael Lustig (25): Looked like a great talent in his first season or two for Rosenborg, but has cooled down since. Transferred to Celtic where he has been injured and benched for some time. He has most likely lost his right back position due to his lack of playing time.
#3 - Olof Mellberg (34): One of the definitive leaders in the team. Has a heap of routine from playing for clubs like Racing Santander, Aston Villa and Juventus. The one player many look to for guidance and leadership, even after he resigned his captaincy.
#4 - Andreas Granqvist (27): Quite the late bloomer, he made some noise owning up in Groningen, earning himself a transfer to Genoa. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see much of him in Genoa, but he's been very good when given the chance in Sweden. Expect him to be the choice for right back ahead of Lustig. Goal.com named him as one of the players to watch out for.
#5 - Martin Olsson (24): Speedy defender with a good eye for crossing. Very offensively minded left back. Last season he played for Blackburn, who were sadly relegated, leading to him wanting out of the club. Was not super impressed from what I saw of him in the PL, but he looks like a solid mid-table club player, imo. He's been very solid in the national team and adds to the offensive power. Expect him to cause some trouble for his opponents come the Euro.
#13 - Jonas Olsson (29): Very underrated defender in my opinion. A defensive leader for Wigan, who he helped avoid relegation. Solid defender with good positioning. Most likely the starting centre back with Mellberg after Majstorovic's injury.
15 - Mikael Antonsson (31): Solid defender. Was a part of the Copenhagen team that made splashes in the Champion's League, but has since moved to Bologna. Good player to have as a Plan B.
17 - Behrang Safari (27): Was a very interesting young prospect but hasn't really turned into the player we hoped. Had a good season or two in Basel which earned him the left back position in the national team, but he literally threw that away. With a mindbogglingly stupid throw in, he gave the ball to Wesley Sneijder, who then passed the ball in to Afellay, who scored. A goal that looked like it would cost Sweden a spot at the European championship. Recently played in the friendly against Iceland and wans't all too bad, but he remains a worrisome defensive liability whenever he plays.
Midfielders
#6 - Rasmus Elm (24): Solid midfielder with excellent passing and amazing free-kicks. After good seasons in Erevidise side AZ Alkmaar, he is reportedly a main interest for several large clubs, including Liverpool. A very good player to have come in towards the end of games to take set pieces and such. Likely to start out on the bench.
#7 - Sebastian Larsson (26): A talent brought up in the Arsenal youth system. Left the Gunners due to too little playing time and joined Birmingham, where he became one o the club's most valuable players. He departed when they fell to the championship and joined Sunderland, where he scored on his debut. He's had an excellent debut season and has been a regular starter for the national team the last few years. Absolutely amazing crosser.
#8 - Anders Svensson (35): An incredibly experienced midfielder, Svensson oozes class. Great passer and set-piece specialist (Remember his free-kick against Argentina in 2002? I sure do). Brings so much to the team, and as vice-captain many look to him for inspiration. Has taken a more defensive position after the retirement of Tobias Linderoth. Almost never has bad games.
#9 - Kim Källström (29): Has always had to stand in the shade of Svensson, but in recent years have gotten the chance to play with him in the centre midfield. Great vision, passing and has a monstrous shot. Another great set-piece taker. 16 - Pontus Wernbloom (25): A warrior on the midfield. Has a temperament which could come to haunt him (I remember him getting into it with Balotelli during the U21 tourney a couple of years ago). Transferred to CSKA Moscow and managed to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Good defensive midfielder and strong personality on the pitch. Has shown off some great passing recently, among others a brilliant cross to Wilhelmsson during the last friendly against Iceland.
18 - Samuel Holmén (27): I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this pick. Holmén never impressed me, and just felt like a player that left for money. Apparently he's been good in Turkey, playing for Istanbul BB, so who knows. Doubt he'll make much of an impact.
#19 - Emir Bajrami (24): Very speedy and technical winger. Got his time in Twente destroyed by injuries and being benched. Looking to leave the club this summer. I can see him doing good in Italy or Spain. If he's in good shape, expect him to start and hopefully cause trouble for the opponents.
#21 - Christian Wilhelmsson (32): Such a wasted career this man has had. After showing great promise during his years in Anderlecht, he transferred to Nantes. Nantes loaned him left and right from Roma, to Bolton, to Deportivo, but none of the keepers wanted to hold on to him. He later left for Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal. After thinking he disappeared, he came back into the national team and has been consistently good the chances he's gotten. Definitely a wildcard for the opponents to look out for.
Forwards
#10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (30): Let's make no mistake about it; Sweden's chances in this tournament depend totally on "Ibra". One of the best Swedish players ever, he carries a ton of responsibility, especially so as he is the captain. I probably don't need to tell you about the amazing career this man has had. Currently playing in Milan, he was the top scorer for this season. He has recently given great performances in the national team which is something he's struggled with earlier. He can play as a deep-lying striker in more of a supplying role, or as the tip of the spear. Amazing technique, vision, passing and a great shot, Zlatan is one of the most versatile forwards in modern football. Deceptively quick for his size and incredibly strong, he's a big danger for every defence in the world.
#11 - Johan Elmander (31): The energizer bunny of the Swedish national team, he can seemingly run for days. Recent years he has begun scoring more regularly (yay for experience) and as such has become a bigger threat himself. One of the biggest team players in the team, and extremely valuable. Currently injured, so it's a race to become healthy for Elmander.
#14 - Tobias Hysén (30): Son of former Swedish national Glenn Hysén, Tobias has spent his entire career in Sweden, save for a year in Sunderland. Quick forward with an eye for goals. Not likely to get much playing time.
#20 - Ola Toivonen (25): Very strong attacker with a mighty shot. Tall and a big threat on corner with his heading ability. Likely to start beside Ibra if Elmander is still injured when the matches kick off.
#22 - Markus Rosenberg (29): Has not been given much of a chance in recent years due to bad form and few goals. Hasn't seemed very inspired to play for Sweden, but was selected after scoring some goals for Werder Bremen this season.
The Manager
Erik Hamrén (54): Just look at this handsome beast. After spending some years in Denmark and Norway as a coach, he was chosen for the Swedish national team. Has shown off some strategic wit lately, with some great substitutions resulting in goals and wins. Opted to change the Swedish line-up from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, and secured another championship qualification for Sweden, after finishing second in the group behind the Netherlands, beating them 3-2 and effectively ending their 17 game long winning streak.
I think Sweden should have a good chance of getting out of the group. Naturally England and France are great teams, but England is injury-plagued and France is a dark horse to take home the entire tournament, but both are definitely beatable. Ukraine should be a solid three-pointer in the opening game and will hopefully set the tone for a good Swedish tournament run.
Btw, they're currently playing a friendly against Serbia and after the first half the standing is 1-1, after goals by Toivonen and Subotic.
2-1 Sweden now, after a penalty from Zlatan.
Extremely good summary for our national team, but I doubt your starting eleven will come true. More likely ---------------------Isaksson------------------- -Lustig(?)-Mellberg---Granqvist-Olsson- ----------Svensson-----Källström----------- --Larsson--------Ibrahimovíc-----Toivonen --------------------Elmander-----------------
Hamrén has lately argued a lot that Ibra feels 'best' as a number nine in the national team, letting Elmander becomg the tip of the spear. Due to the fact that Ibra has a remarkable respect from other national teams, he can draw A LOT of attention with the ball on that position, making it possible for Toivonen and Elmander to advance further with opponent's defense distracted.
Questionmark on Lustig, as he might not be in tip-top shape due to his recent injury. Also, what you said on Rosenberg wasn't 100 % accurate. He did withdraw from national team himself, but yes, when we had Lagerbäck as a coach, Rosenberg wasn't really a favourite to play in the starting eleven. When Hamrén announced Rosenberg as the wild card, I so much hoped for him to say "Henrik Larsson" hahaha.
Hah not a lot of people think England will get out of the group. i admit we're not the strongest team and we've been stronger, but worse that Sweden? Sadface.
For me: Group A - tbh any of them can get through Russia Greece
Group B - Netherlands to squeeze through at the expense of Portugal Germany Netherlands
Group C - think Spain will suffer a shock defeat at the hands of Italy Italy Spain
On June 07 2012 09:59 Sanctimonius wrote: Hah not a lot of people think England will get out of the group. i admit we're not the strongest team and we've been stronger, but worse that Sweden? Sadface.
For me: Group A - tbh any of them can get through Russia Greece
Group B - Netherlands to squeeze through at the expense of Portugal Germany Netherlands
Group C - think Spain will suffer a shock defeat at the hands of Italy Italy Spain
Group D - France to win every game France England
Since 1979 England has faced Sweden 13 times, and managed to win ONE game out of those against Sweden. I do admit, you're not the strongest team, we're not the strongest team. But pull your stuff together if you're gonna trashtalk a nation that's been keeping you at bay for the last 33 years.
On June 07 2012 09:59 Sanctimonius wrote: Hah not a lot of people think England will get out of the group. i admit we're not the strongest team and we've been stronger, but worse that Sweden? Sadface.
For me: Group A - tbh any of them can get through Russia Greece
Group B - Netherlands to squeeze through at the expense of Portugal Germany Netherlands
Group C - think Spain will suffer a shock defeat at the hands of Italy Italy Spain
Group D - France to win every game France England
Since 1979 England has faced Sweden 13 times, and managed to win ONE game out of those against Sweden. I do admit, you're not the strongest team, we're not the strongest team. But pull your stuff together if you're gonna trashtalk a nation that's been keeping you at bay for the last 33 years.
hahaha,rofl. And so it begins, bring out the pitchforks mates,xDDD. It's war from here on.
On June 07 2012 09:59 Sanctimonius wrote: Hah not a lot of people think England will get out of the group. i admit we're not the strongest team and we've been stronger, but worse that Sweden? Sadface.
For me: Group A - tbh any of them can get through Russia Greece
Group B - Netherlands to squeeze through at the expense of Portugal Germany Netherlands
Group C - think Spain will suffer a shock defeat at the hands of Italy Italy Spain
Group D - France to win every game France England
Since 1979 England has faced Sweden 13 times, and managed to win ONE game out of those against Sweden. I do admit, you're not the strongest team, we're not the strongest team. But pull your stuff together if you're gonna trashtalk a nation that's been keeping you at bay for the last 33 years.
hahaha,rofl. And so it begins, bring out the pitchforks mates,xDDD. It's war from here on.
After Friday evening we are all enemies for at least two weeks. :D
#1 - Andreas Isaksson (30): "Isak" is our definite first choice. He's got very quick reflexes and can make some ridiculous saves. Unfortunately, he's not as solid as one would like the keeper of the national team to be. His handling leaves much to be desired, and his communication with the back four varies greatly, sometimes leading to goals for the other team. He needs to be at his best for this tournament for us, or we might go out 0-3. Thankfully he usually steps it up during big competitions, so hopefully he can do that again. The fact that PSV apparently wants to cut him loose after the season is definitely a bit worrying.
#12 - Johan Wiland (31): Very solid keeper with great reflexes. Was named in "The Team of the Week" once in the 2010-11 UEFA Champion's League.
#23 - Pär Hansson (25): First keeper for reigning Swedish champions, Helsingborgs IF. Haven't seen all too much of him, but I assume he's mostly here to see and learn, and is unlikely to play.
Defenders
#2 - Mikael Lustig (25): Looked like a great talent in his first season or two for Rosenborg, but has cooled down since. Transferred to Celtic where he has been injured and benched for some time. He has most likely lost his right back position due to his lack of playing time.
#3 - Olof Mellberg (34): One of the definitive leaders in the team. Has a heap of routine from playing for clubs like Racing Santander, Aston Villa and Juventus. The one player many look to for guidance and leadership, even after he resigned his captaincy.
#4 - Andreas Granqvist (27): Quite the late bloomer, he made some noise owning up in Groningen, earning himself a transfer to Genoa. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see much of him in Genoa, but he's been very good when given the chance in Sweden. Expect him to be the choice for right back ahead of Lustig. Goal.com named him as one of the players to watch out for.
#5 - Martin Olsson (24): Speedy defender with a good eye for crossing. Very offensively minded left back. Last season he played for Blackburn, who were sadly relegated, leading to him wanting out of the club. Was not super impressed from what I saw of him in the PL, but he looks like a solid mid-table club player, imo. He's been very solid in the national team and adds to the offensive power. Expect him to cause some trouble for his opponents come the Euro.
#13 - Jonas Olsson (29): Very underrated defender in my opinion. A defensive leader for Wigan, who he helped avoid relegation. Solid defender with good positioning. Most likely the starting centre back with Mellberg after Majstorovic's injury.
15 - Mikael Antonsson (31): Solid defender. Was a part of the Copenhagen team that made splashes in the Champion's League, but has since moved to Bologna. Good player to have as a Plan B.
17 - Behrang Safari (27): Was a very interesting young prospect but hasn't really turned into the player we hoped. Had a good season or two in Basel which earned him the left back position in the national team, but he literally threw that away. With a mindbogglingly stupid throw in, he gave the ball to Wesley Sneijder, who then passed the ball in to Afellay, who scored. A goal that looked like it would cost Sweden a spot at the European championship. Recently played in the friendly against Iceland and wans't all too bad, but he remains a worrisome defensive liability whenever he plays.
Midfielders
#6 - Rasmus Elm (24): Solid midfielder with excellent passing and amazing free-kicks. After good seasons in Erevidise side AZ Alkmaar, he is reportedly a main interest for several large clubs, including Liverpool. A very good player to have come in towards the end of games to take set pieces and such. Likely to start out on the bench.
#7 - Sebastian Larsson (26): A talent brought up in the Arsenal youth system. Left the Gunners due to too little playing time and joined Birmingham, where he became one o the club's most valuable players. He departed when they fell to the championship and joined Sunderland, where he scored on his debut. He's had an excellent debut season and has been a regular starter for the national team the last few years. Absolutely amazing crosser.
#8 - Anders Svensson (35): An incredibly experienced midfielder, Svensson oozes class. Great passer and set-piece specialist (Remember his free-kick against Argentina in 2002? I sure do). Brings so much to the team, and as vice-captain many look to him for inspiration. Has taken a more defensive position after the retirement of Tobias Linderoth. Almost never has bad games.
#9 - Kim Källström (29): Has always had to stand in the shade of Svensson, but in recent years have gotten the chance to play with him in the centre midfield. Great vision, passing and has a monstrous shot. Another great set-piece taker. 16 - Pontus Wernbloom (25): A warrior on the midfield. Has a temperament which could come to haunt him (I remember him getting into it with Balotelli during the U21 tourney a couple of years ago). Transferred to CSKA Moscow and managed to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Good defensive midfielder and strong personality on the pitch. Has shown off some great passing recently, among others a brilliant cross to Wilhelmsson during the last friendly against Iceland.
18 - Samuel Holmén (27): I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this pick. Holmén never impressed me, and just felt like a player that left for money. Apparently he's been good in Turkey, playing for Istanbul BB, so who knows. Doubt he'll make much of an impact.
#19 - Emir Bajrami (24): Very speedy and technical winger. Got his time in Twente destroyed by injuries and being benched. Looking to leave the club this summer. I can see him doing good in Italy or Spain. If he's in good shape, expect him to start and hopefully cause trouble for the opponents.
#21 - Christian Wilhelmsson (32): Such a wasted career this man has had. After showing great promise during his years in Anderlecht, he transferred to Nantes. Nantes loaned him left and right from Roma, to Bolton, to Deportivo, but none of the keepers wanted to hold on to him. He later left for Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal. After thinking he disappeared, he came back into the national team and has been consistently good the chances he's gotten. Definitely a wildcard for the opponents to look out for.
Forwards
#10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (30): Let's make no mistake about it; Sweden's chances in this tournament depend totally on "Ibra". One of the best Swedish players ever, he carries a ton of responsibility, especially so as he is the captain. I probably don't need to tell you about the amazing career this man has had. Currently playing in Milan, he was the top scorer for this season. He has recently given great performances in the national team which is something he's struggled with earlier. He can play as a deep-lying striker in more of a supplying role, or as the tip of the spear. Amazing technique, vision, passing and a great shot, Zlatan is one of the most versatile forwards in modern football. Deceptively quick for his size and incredibly strong, he's a big danger for every defence in the world.
#11 - Johan Elmander (31): The energizer bunny of the Swedish national team, he can seemingly run for days. Recent years he has begun scoring more regularly (yay for experience) and as such has become a bigger threat himself. One of the biggest team players in the team, and extremely valuable. Currently injured, so it's a race to become healthy for Elmander.
#14 - Tobias Hysén (30): Son of former Swedish national Glenn Hysén, Tobias has spent his entire career in Sweden, save for a year in Sunderland. Quick forward with an eye for goals. Not likely to get much playing time.
#20 - Ola Toivonen (25): Very strong attacker with a mighty shot. Tall and a big threat on corner with his heading ability. Likely to start beside Ibra if Elmander is still injured when the matches kick off.
#22 - Markus Rosenberg (29): Has not been given much of a chance in recent years due to bad form and few goals. Hasn't seemed very inspired to play for Sweden, but was selected after scoring some goals for Werder Bremen this season.
The Manager
Erik Hamrén (54): Just look at this handsome beast. After spending some years in Denmark and Norway as a coach, he was chosen for the Swedish national team. Has shown off some strategic wit lately, with some great substitutions resulting in goals and wins. Opted to change the Swedish line-up from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, and secured another championship qualification for Sweden, after finishing second in the group behind the Netherlands, beating them 3-2 and effectively ending their 17 game long winning streak.
I think Sweden should have a good chance of getting out of the group. Naturally England and France are great teams, but England is injury-plagued and France is a dark horse to take home the entire tournament, but both are definitely beatable. Ukraine should be a solid three-pointer in the opening game and will hopefully set the tone for a good Swedish tournament run.
Btw, they're currently playing a friendly against Serbia and after the first half the standing is 1-1, after goals by Toivonen and Subotic.
2-1 Sweden now, after a penalty from Zlatan.
Extremely good summary for our national team, but I doubt your starting eleven will come true. More likely ---------------------Isaksson------------------- -Lustig(?)-Mellberg---Granqvist-Olsson- ----------Svensson-----Källström----------- --Larsson--------Ibrahimovíc-----Toivonen --------------------Elmander-----------------
Hamrén has lately argued a lot that Ibra feels 'best' as a number nine in the national team, letting Elmander becomg the tip of the spear. Due to the fact that Ibra has a remarkable respect from other national teams, he can draw A LOT of attention with the ball on that position, making it possible for Toivonen and Elmander to advance further with opponent's defense distracted.
Questionmark on Lustig, as he might not be in tip-top shape due to his recent injury. Also, what you said on Rosenberg wasn't 100 % accurate. He did withdraw from national team himself, but yes, when we had Lagerbäck as a coach, Rosenberg wasn't really a favourite to play in the starting eleven. When Hamrén announced Rosenberg as the wild card, I so much hoped for him to say "Henrik Larsson" hahaha.
True. I made the line-up during the game, but has since leaned towards roughly what you're suggesting.
Granqvist was pretty bad against Serbia, so the right back position is up in the air right now. I still prefer Granqvist over Lustig, though. Toivonen to the left is intriguing, but I doubt he would come into his own on the left flank. Maybe he'll be a bit more central than a normal winger would be and let Olsson run his arse off on the side? As for Zlatan/Elmander positioning, it's kind of hard to say since Elmander is all over the freaking pitch, and Zlatan usually does whatever he wants, but you might be right.
I have a pretty good feeling heading into the championship, albeit with a question mark over our defence. Zlatan and Elmander should get great chances against Ukraine and a fairly weak England defence. France will probably stomp us pretty bad, unfortunately.
I don't see Portugal reaching the knock-out stage at all. They have a pretty solid and technical team, but who's going to be their main goal scorer? Postiga and Almeida have good records in the national team, but I don't see them scoring against giants like Netherlands and Germany. Ronaldo will have to bring the fucking pain for Portugal to even have a chance. Also Pepe and Bruno Alves, lol. Somebody will get killed receive a red card for sure.
On June 07 2012 09:59 Sanctimonius wrote: Hah not a lot of people think England will get out of the group. i admit we're not the strongest team and we've been stronger, but worse that Sweden? Sadface.
For me: Group A - tbh any of them can get through Russia Greece
Group B - Netherlands to squeeze through at the expense of Portugal Germany Netherlands
Group C - think Spain will suffer a shock defeat at the hands of Italy Italy Spain
Group D - France to win every game France England
Since 1979 England has faced Sweden 13 times, and managed to win ONE game out of those against Sweden. I do admit, you're not the strongest team, we're not the strongest team. But pull your stuff together if you're gonna trashtalk a nation that's been keeping you at bay for the last 33 years.
hahaha,rofl. And so it begins, bring out the pitchforks mates,xDDD. It's war from here on.
After Friday evening we are all enemies for at least two weeks. :D
Let's do this Italy! I don't know why they played so poorly against Russia, but the quality of the players in the team is actually pretty damn good this time around. Easily better than 2010 or 2008, and it's worth noting that in 2008 we're held Spain to a draw until PKs. Forza!
On June 07 2012 10:39 Stackz wrote: Portugal one makes pretty sense ) some are kinda provocative....
I actually don't understand that one. Explanation?
Cristiano Ronaldo (guy in the poster) best player of the world(forget messi ^^) and recognition of portugal's football goes almost all for him.... My understanding of the poster is - forget individuals focus on country
Gonna watch these games, and it'll be the first time I watch this sport with intent in well....ever. I played a little when I was younger but I really know nothing about the sport. Are there any good resources of getting someone up to speed of the rules and shit so I can watch without being completely lost about what's going on? These games are at a perfect time for me, so I'm excited :D
On June 07 2012 11:17 Candadar wrote: Gonna watch these games, and it'll be the first time I watch this sport with intent in well....ever. I played a little when I was younger but I really know nothing about the sport. Are there any good resources of getting someone up to speed of the rules and shit so I can watch without being completely lost about what's going on? These games are at a perfect time for me, so I'm excited :D
There are no weird rules. If you hit someone hard it's a foul. So the others get the ball in a set play. Same thing happens if they touch the ball intentionally with their hands. Messi is the best player ever existed. If the ball goes out of bounds along the wide line it's a throw in with the hands, or a kick set piece if it's along the posts. The only weird rule, the offside ruling, is better explained through a vid + Show Spoiler +
On June 07 2012 11:17 Candadar wrote: Gonna watch these games, and it'll be the first time I watch this sport with intent in well....ever. I played a little when I was younger but I really know nothing about the sport. Are there any good resources of getting someone up to speed of the rules and shit so I can watch without being completely lost about what's going on? These games are at a perfect time for me, so I'm excited :D
The site http://www.zonalmarking.net/ has some good articles about tactics, and this week they did some good previews of the teams participating in the Euro cup.
Jesus christ, Messi manages to find his way into a EURO thread, lol.
The rules are indeed mostly very easy. Tackling is allowed when going for the ball (however if you go in way harder than needed or for example with your soles first you might find yourself getting booked. You can find some pretty gross videos of football injuries online).
You can receive cards in football, but you don't want to. Yellow cards are given to people who make a bad tackle, disrupt play (for example kicking away the ball when the other team has received a free kick) and for people who take off their shirts to celebrate a goal (I believe this is because some players have political or religious statements on their under-shirts, and this is to prevent them from showing them - I might be wrong on this). A Red card is given to a player that has done something really really bad on the pitch. If a player is given a red card he is immediately sent off the pitch. If a player receives two yellow cards, he is given a red card. If a player comes in with a really shitty tackle + Show Spoiler [example of idiotic tackle] +
he is sent off. Almost all tackles from behind that do not hit the ball end up in a red card.
Both teams have a goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, and forwards. Goals are scored by getting the ball into the other team's goal.
Goalkeepers guard the goal. They are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands. Simple as that.
Defenders are pretty much what they sound like. They take care of a team's defence.
Midfielders are the most versatile players. They come in a bit more shapes than the other positions. We have wingers (players on the sides of the pitch, mostly looking to cross the ball to the forwards), play makers (great passers that move the ball forward to the attacking players), defensive midfielders (explains itself, really) and more.
Forwards, also called strikers, are the tip of the spear that is the team. They are the goalscorers of the team and spend most of the time on the other team's side of the pitch.
The match is 2*45 minutes. The team that scores more goals wins. Group games end in draws if both teams have the same amount of goals scored (or not scored :D). Knock-out rounds have extra time if the teams are tied after full time. Extra time is 2*15 minutes. The team in the lead after extra time is the winner. If both teams are still tied after extra time, there will be a penalty shoot-out. Both teams have 5 players to take a penalty each. The team that scores the most penalties win. If both teams are tied after 5 penalties, they go into sudden death (If team A misses, and team B scores, B wins and vice versa) until a winner is decided.
Goal kicks are awarded when the ball crosses the goal line (but obviously not within the posts). These are almost always taken by the goalkeeper.
Corners are given when the defending team makes the ball cross their own goal line (again, obviously not between the posts).
Free kicks are given when a player is fouled on the pitch.
Penalties are given when a player is fouled with in the penalty area (a rectangular area near the goal). Penalties are taken from the penalty spot (found within the penalty area). One player from the attacking team shoots it, and the defending goalkeeper gets a chance to defend it. All other players must stand outside the penalty area until the penalty is shot.
I think that's about it. I might have forgotten something, so if you're still wondering about something, feel free to ask.
Only another day till the EURO 2012 kicks off. I am sorry for the neglect of OP update since D3 has robbed away alot of my free time . Just update the OP with PaleRider09 promo and odds prediction of the winner.
What do you guys want to add to the OP, just let me know. I am gonna get as much sleep as possible tonight since every matches of this tournament start around 2:45 AM for me over here -_-. But well, every Worldcup and EURO has always be like this(except for the 2002 WC )
On June 07 2012 11:17 Candadar wrote: Gonna watch these games, and it'll be the first time I watch this sport with intent in well....ever. I played a little when I was younger but I really know nothing about the sport. Are there any good resources of getting someone up to speed of the rules and shit so I can watch without being completely lost about what's going on? These games are at a perfect time for me, so I'm excited :D
This is a very good guide of "Laws of the game" on Fifa official website. It is divided in 17 section with interactive guides that are easy to follow. Things you want to focus on are : Offside, Ball in/out, method of scoring etc...
I also update the OP with "What is football/soccer" section for people that want to get into football out there.
On June 07 2012 10:39 Stackz wrote: Portugal one makes pretty sense ) some are kinda provocative....
I actually don't understand that one. Explanation?
One month when country comes first, over a picture of Ronaldo... how does that not make sense to you? Btw, my dad is Croatian, so I really loved our poster, one month to fear no one. Really takes me back to this:
There is a remarkable pattern when it comes to the European championships. The runner up of the World Cup wins max. of 2 game in the next Euro.
In 1974 Holland lost the WC final and in 1976 they won 0 games. In 1978 Holland lost the WC final and in 1980 they won 1 games. In 1982 West-Germany lost the WC final and in 1984 they won 1 game. In 1986 West-Germany lost the WC final and in 1988 they won 2 games In 1994 Italy lost the WC final and in 1996 they won 1 game. In 2002 Germany lost the WC final and in 2004 they won 0 games. In 2006 France lost the WC final and in 2008 they won 0 games. In 2010 Holland lost the WC final and in 2012 .......
On June 07 2012 18:19 don_kyuhote wrote: There is a remarkable pattern when it comes to the European championships. The runner up of the World Cup wins max. of 2 game in the next Euro.
In 1974 Holland lost the WC final and in 1976 they won 0 games. In 1978 Holland lost the WC final and in 1980 they won 1 games. In 1982 West-Germany lost the WC final and in 1984 they won 1 game. In 1986 West-Germany lost the WC final and in 1988 they won 2 games In 1994 Italy lost the WC final and in 1996 they won 1 game. In 2002 Germany lost the WC final and in 2004 they won 0 games. In 2006 France lost the WC final and in 2008 they won 0 games. In 2010 Holland lost the WC final and in 2012 .......
in 2012...... They won all group games and lost to Spain in semi final. :D
I really liked those posters. Pleasantly surprised the Netherlands' one says 'of Total Football', since that is 'totally' not how we play. The 4231 instead of 433 (or at least 4123) formation we play is not much short of a disgrace. I'd say Germany has a better shot at that label right now.
On June 07 2012 19:24 aseq wrote: I really liked those posters. Pleasantly surprised the Netherlands' one says 'of Total Football', since that is 'totally' not how we play. The 4231 instead of 433 (or at least 4123) formation we play is not much short of a disgrace. I'd say Germany has a better shot at that label right now.
The general game is closer to total football then it used to be when just the Dutch did it. Doesnt take away from the fact that they pioneered it. The current team is just as total football as any other top team these days (unless your like Greece or something).
Most team play with a lone striker nowadays , after what Greece did in 2004 and Mourinho did with all his club. Honestly football since 2006 and up are boring compare to their previous form since the "you will win if the other team can't score" way of football has been proven superior in almost all competition.
Rooting for Poland provided they don't bump into England somehow, they have a doable group, and it would be cool to see them get to the semis with the home crowd behind them
Finally, got the work office a nice Wall Chart for EURO 2012, with the paper today (The Sun if any UK people are interested) Time to work on getting some gambling going in the office Haha.
I was looking for a wall chart yesterday, only radiotimes had one and it was like just an A4 in size so I was like fuck that, as much as I abhor giving the sun any money this must be done
I have just returned from Warsaw FUNZONE opening It is huge (almost as big as area of an Old City) and already packed with thousand of people. Tomorrow it will be just like WOW ;>
A very important thing I've noticed is that the Polish coach talked about not losing while ours talked about winning. They don't have a winners attitude and that's extremely important. I think we will win tomorrow.
Alot of group D will come down to which France shows up to this Euro.
France either does very well in international competitions or terrible. Group D should be France England but if France plays like they did at the world cup then denmark can get out of the group
On June 08 2012 04:05 Steveling wrote: A very important thing I've noticed is that the Polish coach talked about not losing while ours talked about winning. They don't have a winners attitude and that's extremely important. I think we will win tomorrow.
Once they step out on that field I can assure you that 40k+ crazy poles are gonna make sure their team play harder for a win than they ever have before. I think the hosts will be victorious, and as a neutral supporter I certainly hope so! Greece had their 15 minutes of fame with their obnoxious footie.
I hope you have blast anyways Steveling, I wish I could support my country in the euros.
(Vote): France vs England (Vote): England vs Sweden (Vote): France vs Sweden (Vote): Portugal vs Germany (Vote): Portugal vs Holland (Vote): Holland vs Germany (Vote): Spain vs Italy
Allez les bleus! Hopefully them and England will bring their game and actually put up a good showing. Hopefully Benzema kills it and they can at least hit the semis. Still expecting the Dutch, Germany or Spain to win it though
On June 08 2012 04:05 Steveling wrote: A very important thing I've noticed is that the Polish coach talked about not losing while ours talked about winning. They don't have a winners attitude and that's extremely important. I think we will win tomorrow.
I fear Greece could pose some problems for Poland
Don't get me wrong, I like Greece, but the Polish team has won my heart, and I really hope that they win tomorrow for the home crowd.
(Vote): France vs England (Vote): England vs Sweden (Vote): France vs Sweden (Vote): Portugal vs Germany (Vote): Portugal vs Holland (Vote): Holland vs Germany (Vote): Spain vs Italy
Portugal Holland is going to decide that group.
Germany should be first and either holland or portugal will be second. It will all come down to who wins that match
On June 08 2012 05:54 PaleRider09 wrote: Question: Are there gonna be match threads? I always love reading these.
Yeah, Im going to do tomorrows if no one has any problems with it ^_^ will do as much information as i can. Spoilers for results and real time updates if i can. 16:00 GMT (+00:00) kick off for first game and 18:45 GMT (+00:00) kick off for game 2
I cant believe its only HOURS before it starts! I remember the day the EURO2012 was granted to Poland&Ukraine. It was sooo big news here everyone in Poland was talking about for about 2 weeks. It was insane. Every polish tv channel was filled with discussion. Will we organize it well? Will stadiums/hotels/highways be ready in time? Will our police deal with fans well? And how much money politicians will steal with this ocasion? And now the stadiums are ready, highways are partly ready (:<) and whole nation is waiting... will it be a succes? Will Poland be remembered as serious country which can organize really big stuff and run it well? Will our bad national team get out of group play? We will find out soon! Im so excited about this. Good night
On June 08 2012 05:54 PaleRider09 wrote: Question: Are there gonna be match threads? I always love reading these.
Yeah, Im going to do tomorrows if no one has any problems with it ^_^ will do as much information as i can. Spoilers for results and real time updates if i can. 16:00 GMT (+00:00) kick off for first game and 18:45 GMT (+00:00) kick off for game 2
It will be better if we have group threads. Since the matches won't overlap each other. It will be easier to check results and stuff as well. So we need 4 LR threads.
I wouldnt agree with greece being lowly rated, they arent a attractive attacking team but their reliable and dont let many goals in.
Poland - Greece Russia Czech Republic poland are reliable, but russia should overpower the rest of the teams in this group, I would put them first, then any other team could take 2nd or even squeeze first if their on form at the time. all the three teams are good, not flashy but dependable.
Netherlands Denmark Germany Portugal Germany + netherlands to get out, portugal if ronaldo is on fire but i feel like although nani etc are so good, the entire portugal team rests on if he is hot or not. Its a team of good players carried by him I feel.. On the flipside if they get out of the group they are in with a real chance to win it, having got rid of at least 1 of the favourites to win. Denmark i just feel bad for, any other group they would have a clear shot at qualifying. This group is a hundred times harder, such a group of death
Spain Italy Republic of Ireland Croatia Spain to go first, then anyone really, I dont rate italy all the high anymore, and ROI are on a huge unbeaten streak, solid team under the new manager. I dont know much about croatia though. So i would say any of the 3 to get through but i dont see spain having too much trouble.
Ukraine Sweden France England
simple, England to shit on everyone in the group, not concede a goal and smash everyone by 10 goals. lol but seriously, I think they will qualify, if they beat France I would put them first, Sweden are a good team and Ukraine are alright too, but France is certainly the biggest team to challenge England in the group.
Overall predictions, germany to go out in a shock defeat after qualifying, portugal to not make it out, netherlands + spain in finals, england being beaten by netherlands in semis
[QUOTE]On June 07 2012 10:28 NuclearJudas wrote: [QUOTE]On June 07 2012 09:57 Wakerius wrote: [QUOTE]On June 06 2012 03:00 NuclearJudas wrote: Aight, time for a little run-down on Sweden, bros:
[spoiler=text and images inside][center] Some chill music for you, lads: [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8MzHqkNBwo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8MzHqkNBwo[/url] Now let's get started.
Sweden
I agreed with a lot of what you say, Sweden are heavily underrated but i do think england will qualify over them that said. I think the reason why their so underrated they have very few really well known players at least not in the EPL like England have Rooney, Ronaldo for Portugal etc. Though the obvious exception is the player everrrrryone who watches football knows. but past that i can name very few.
I dont agree with the bit about england having a weak defence, Id say our strength is our defence and our bigger weaknesses is no rooney for the first two games and with IMO at least kinda substandard strikers, defoe is unavailable atm for personal issues, Carroll is kinda bad, welbeck is good but very young.
agreed about portugal though and lololol the last bit made me laugh so hard, its so true, its gonna be a absolute bloodbath. [/b
I have a pretty good feeling heading into the championship, albeit with a question mark over our defence. Zlatan and Elmander should get great chances against Ukraine and a fairly weak England defence. France will probably stomp us pretty bad, unfortunately.
I don't see Portugal reaching the knock-out stage at all. They have a pretty solid and technical team, but who's going to be their main goal scorer? Postiga and Almeida have good records in the national team, but I don't see them scoring against giants like Netherlands and Germany. Ronaldo will have to bring the fucking pain for Portugal to even have a chance. Also Pepe and Bruno Alves, lol. Somebody will get killed receive a red card for sure.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure that I would call England's defence the strongest part of their team. Hart is a great keeper, for sure, but the back four shows weakness to me. Cole is obviously the safest card. Terry is a damn good defender but has shown that he can do some extremely stupid shit sometimes. Lescott is usually solid, but has made some mind-boggling mistakes (he was shit against QPR, imo). Having Cahill get injured set them back so badly, since Cahill and Terry were really finding a good rhythm together. The right back position is such a huge question mark, with Johnson (the master of over-extending) and Kelly (while a good talent, not at all ready for a championship like this, imo).
For me, the midfield is a bigger threat. Young has had an amazing season and is so hard to stop. The Ox is a beast, and has shown during the season that he is ready for some damn big matches. Walcott is good (come at me, haters), although his defending leaves a lot to be desired. Gerrard has seen better days but is still a crazy good midfielder and a strong leader for a team with big egos. Milner is damn good, and has some sick crossing if needed. Parker is a very hard worker and just a great all-round player. Downing (L O L) and Henderson (who I still believe has a good future to be had) are novelty picks, but might surprise.
England's forward selection looks great. Carrol had a good run to close out the season and can give some aerial power up front. Jermaine Defoe brings the pain. The man just knows how to score again and again. Welbeck is looking great and will be very hard to deal with (especially for Sweden), and you guys know that Rooney will score against Ukraine, right? Because he will. England's whole group play is decided against France. If they take a point, they have a great chance. If they lose, I think they bomb out pretty hard.
omg, only fifteen hours left to the first match, hype hype hype hype hype hype hype
Its like 12 hours till the tournament start? Gonna get some beers and snack for to night and hope that I don't get drunk and asleep before the matches start .
On June 08 2012 10:51 NuclearJudas wrote: I'm not sure that I would call England's defence the strongest part of their team. Hart is a great keeper, for sure, but the back four shows weakness to me. Cole is obviously the safest card. Terry is a damn good defender but has shown that he can do some extremely stupid shit sometimes. Lescott is usually solid, but has made some mind-boggling mistakes (he was shit against QPR, imo). Having Cahill get injured set them back so badly, since Cahill and Terry were really finding a good rhythm together. The right back position is such a huge question mark, with Johnson (the master of over-extending) and Kelly (while a good talent, not at all ready for a championship like this, imo).
For me, the midfield is a bigger threat. Young has had an amazing season and is so hard to stop. The Ox is a beast, and has shown during the season that he is ready for some damn big matches. Walcott is good (come at me, haters), although his defending leaves a lot to be desired. Gerrard has seen better days but is still a crazy good midfielder and a strong leader for a team with big egos. Milner is damn good, and has some sick crossing if needed. Parker is a very hard worker and just a great all-round player. Downing (L O L) and Henderson (who I still believe has a good future to be had) are novelty picks, but might surprise.
England's forward selection looks great. Carrol had a good run to close out the season and can give some aerial power up front. Jermaine Defoe brings the pain. The man just knows how to score again and again. Welbeck is looking great and will be very hard to deal with (especially for Sweden), and you guys know that Rooney will score against Ukraine, right? Because he will. England's whole group play is decided against France. If they take a point, they have a great chance. If they lose, I think they bomb out pretty hard.
omg, only fifteen hours left to the first match, hype hype hype hype hype hype hype
so in summary, those defenders are awesome. But they MIGHT make mistakes. like that ONE time there or that OTHER time there.
That midfield is ok and some of them are trash but they MIGHT suprise. Because why not ? Walctott and Ox running rings around bitches yo.. just like when that 1 game against Chelsea and that other game against.. and uhh uhhhh nevermind. (I like Young though. That bender cutting in is mean. Wouldnt call his season amazing. That would be the case if you stopped watching the PL at the Arsenal game.)
Theyre forward line without Rooney is mismaster Welbeck (believe he was on my fantasy team I watched him very closely) and the donkey who managed to pull some weight for 4 games. THat must mean the odds are on.
Following this logic Englands defenders are not their strongest point.
I dont mind the opinion but the grounds you have for saying their defenders arent far and away their best players is more hopeful than logical. You may well be right but a betting man would stay away.
On June 08 2012 05:54 PaleRider09 wrote: Question: Are there gonna be match threads? I always love reading these.
Yeah, Im going to do tomorrows if no one has any problems with it ^_^ will do as much information as i can. Spoilers for results and real time updates if i can. 16:00 GMT (+00:00) kick off for first game and 18:45 GMT (+00:00) kick off for game 2
It will be better if we have group threads. Since the matches won't overlap each other. It will be easier to check results and stuff as well. So we need 4 LR threads.
I think personally it be better to just do LR for each game, one we have a sub forum so we might as well abuse that fact, and 2 because you can put all the information about previous games (once completed) as well, plus ill set up a template with my first one people can copy in with if they want.
On June 08 2012 17:23 ParkwayDrive wrote: my picks: Group A: Russia, Greece Group B: Netherlands, Portugal Group C: Spain, Croatia Group D: Sweden, England
Winner: Netherlands
HAHA, you picked everything wrong lol :D Let me guess, you are american? Really funny :D
Here are the right picks: A: Poland, Russia B: Germany, Holland C: Spain, Croatia D: France, England
Personally I don't want to give any prediction until first round has passed. It is too hard to predict winners based on friendly games and qualification games from few months ago. After first round we can give more precise predictions for most groups.
I agreed with a lot of what you say, Sweden are heavily underrated but i do think england will qualify over them that said. I think the reason why their so underrated they have very few really well known players at least not in the EPL like England have Rooney, Ronaldo for Portugal etc. Though the obvious exception is the player everrrrryone who watches football knows. but past that i can name very few.
I dont agree with the bit about england having a weak defence, Id say our strength is our defence and our bigger weaknesses is no rooney for the first two games and with IMO at least kinda substandard strikers, defoe is unavailable atm for personal issues, Carroll is kinda bad, welbeck is good but very young.
agreed about portugal though and lololol the last bit made me laugh so hard, its so true, its gonna be a absolute bloodbath. [/b
I have a pretty good feeling heading into the championship, albeit with a question mark over our defence. Zlatan and Elmander should get great chances against Ukraine and a fairly weak England defence. France will probably stomp us pretty bad, unfortunately.
I don't see Portugal reaching the knock-out stage at all. They have a pretty solid and technical team, but who's going to be their main goal scorer? Postiga and Almeida have good records in the national team, but I don't see them scoring against giants like Netherlands and Germany. Ronaldo will have to bring the fucking pain for Portugal to even have a chance. Also Pepe and Bruno Alves, lol. Somebody will get killed receive a red card for sure.
You're not gonna have Rooney against France or Sweden. See, that'll complicate things. I seriously hope you don't expect Welbeck to fill up a striker of Rooney's caliber, right? You tell us to worry about Welbeck whilst you have to deal with Ibrahimovíc? Do you even watch football?
The true question is whether or not France will show great strength. France is a team that can easily be the best in the world, as well as a complete catastrophe. You guys will face France in the first game, THAT will determine the outcome of the group for England's sake. Sweden vs England is a draw.
On June 08 2012 10:51 NuclearJudas wrote: I'm not sure that I would call England's defence the strongest part of their team. Hart is a great keeper, for sure, but the back four shows weakness to me. Cole is obviously the safest card. Terry is a damn good defender but has shown that he can do some extremely stupid shit sometimes. Lescott is usually solid, but has made some mind-boggling mistakes (he was shit against QPR, imo). Having Cahill get injured set them back so badly, since Cahill and Terry were really finding a good rhythm together. The right back position is such a huge question mark, with Johnson (the master of over-extending) and Kelly (while a good talent, not at all ready for a championship like this, imo).
For me, the midfield is a bigger threat. Young has had an amazing season and is so hard to stop. The Ox is a beast, and has shown during the season that he is ready for some damn big matches. Walcott is good (come at me, haters), although his defending leaves a lot to be desired. Gerrard has seen better days but is still a crazy good midfielder and a strong leader for a team with big egos. Milner is damn good, and has some sick crossing if needed. Parker is a very hard worker and just a great all-round player. Downing (L O L) and Henderson (who I still believe has a good future to be had) are novelty picks, but might surprise.
England's forward selection looks great. Carrol had a good run to close out the season and can give some aerial power up front. Jermaine Defoe brings the pain. The man just knows how to score again and again. Welbeck is looking great and will be very hard to deal with (especially for Sweden), and you guys know that Rooney will score against Ukraine, right? Because he will. England's whole group play is decided against France. If they take a point, they have a great chance. If they lose, I think they bomb out pretty hard.
omg, only fifteen hours left to the first match, hype hype hype hype hype hype hype
You're not gonna have Rooney against France or Sweden. See, that'll complicate things. I seriously hope you don't expect Welbeck to fill up a striker of Rooney's caliber, right? You tell us to worry about Welbeck whilst you have to deal with Ibrahimovíc? Do you even watch football?
The true question is whether or not France will show great strength. France is a team that can easily be the best in the world, as well as a complete catastrophe. You guys will face France in the first game, THAT will determine the outcome of the group for England's sake. Sweden vs England is a draw.
On June 06 2012 03:00 NuclearJudas wrote: Aight, time for a little run-down on Sweden, bros:
#1 - Andreas Isaksson (30): "Isak" is our definite first choice. He's got very quick reflexes and can make some ridiculous saves. Unfortunately, he's not as solid as one would like the keeper of the national team to be. His handling leaves much to be desired, and his communication with the back four varies greatly, sometimes leading to goals for the other team. He needs to be at his best for this tournament for us, or we might go out 0-3. Thankfully he usually steps it up during big competitions, so hopefully he can do that again. The fact that PSV apparently wants to cut him loose after the season is definitely a bit worrying.
#12 - Johan Wiland (31): Very solid keeper with great reflexes. Was named in "The Team of the Week" once in the 2010-11 UEFA Champion's League.
#23 - Pär Hansson (25): First keeper for reigning Swedish champions, Helsingborgs IF. Haven't seen all too much of him, but I assume he's mostly here to see and learn, and is unlikely to play.
Defenders
#2 - Mikael Lustig (25): Looked like a great talent in his first season or two for Rosenborg, but has cooled down since. Transferred to Celtic where he has been injured and benched for some time. He has most likely lost his right back position due to his lack of playing time.
#3 - Olof Mellberg (34): One of the definitive leaders in the team. Has a heap of routine from playing for clubs like Racing Santander, Aston Villa and Juventus. The one player many look to for guidance and leadership, even after he resigned his captaincy.
#4 - Andreas Granqvist (27): Quite the late bloomer, he made some noise owning up in Groningen, earning himself a transfer to Genoa. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see much of him in Genoa, but he's been very good when given the chance in Sweden. Expect him to be the choice for right back ahead of Lustig. Goal.com named him as one of the players to watch out for.
#5 - Martin Olsson (24): Speedy defender with a good eye for crossing. Very offensively minded left back. Last season he played for Blackburn, who were sadly relegated, leading to him wanting out of the club. Was not super impressed from what I saw of him in the PL, but he looks like a solid mid-table club player, imo. He's been very solid in the national team and adds to the offensive power. Expect him to cause some trouble for his opponents come the Euro.
#13 - Jonas Olsson (29): Very underrated defender in my opinion. A defensive leader for Wigan, who he helped avoid relegation. Solid defender with good positioning. Most likely the starting centre back with Mellberg after Majstorovic's injury.
15 - Mikael Antonsson (31): Solid defender. Was a part of the Copenhagen team that made splashes in the Champion's League, but has since moved to Bologna. Good player to have as a Plan B.
17 - Behrang Safari (27): Was a very interesting young prospect but hasn't really turned into the player we hoped. Had a good season or two in Basel which earned him the left back position in the national team, but he literally threw that away. With a mindbogglingly stupid throw in, he gave the ball to Wesley Sneijder, who then passed the ball in to Afellay, who scored. A goal that looked like it would cost Sweden a spot at the European championship. Recently played in the friendly against Iceland and wans't all too bad, but he remains a worrisome defensive liability whenever he plays.
Midfielders
#6 - Rasmus Elm (24): Solid midfielder with excellent passing and amazing free-kicks. After good seasons in Erevidise side AZ Alkmaar, he is reportedly a main interest for several large clubs, including Liverpool. A very good player to have come in towards the end of games to take set pieces and such. Likely to start out on the bench.
#7 - Sebastian Larsson (26): A talent brought up in the Arsenal youth system. Left the Gunners due to too little playing time and joined Birmingham, where he became one o the club's most valuable players. He departed when they fell to the championship and joined Sunderland, where he scored on his debut. He's had an excellent debut season and has been a regular starter for the national team the last few years. Absolutely amazing crosser.
#8 - Anders Svensson (35): An incredibly experienced midfielder, Svensson oozes class. Great passer and set-piece specialist (Remember his free-kick against Argentina in 2002? I sure do). Brings so much to the team, and as vice-captain many look to him for inspiration. Has taken a more defensive position after the retirement of Tobias Linderoth. Almost never has bad games.
#9 - Kim Källström (29): Has always had to stand in the shade of Svensson, but in recent years have gotten the chance to play with him in the centre midfield. Great vision, passing and has a monstrous shot. Another great set-piece taker. 16 - Pontus Wernbloom (25): A warrior on the midfield. Has a temperament which could come to haunt him (I remember him getting into it with Balotelli during the U21 tourney a couple of years ago). Transferred to CSKA Moscow and managed to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Good defensive midfielder and strong personality on the pitch. Has shown off some great passing recently, among others a brilliant cross to Wilhelmsson during the last friendly against Iceland.
18 - Samuel Holmén (27): I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this pick. Holmén never impressed me, and just felt like a player that left for money. Apparently he's been good in Turkey, playing for Istanbul BB, so who knows. Doubt he'll make much of an impact.
#19 - Emir Bajrami (24): Very speedy and technical winger. Got his time in Twente destroyed by injuries and being benched. Looking to leave the club this summer. I can see him doing good in Italy or Spain. If he's in good shape, expect him to start and hopefully cause trouble for the opponents.
#21 - Christian Wilhelmsson (32): Such a wasted career this man has had. After showing great promise during his years in Anderlecht, he transferred to Nantes. Nantes loaned him left and right from Roma, to Bolton, to Deportivo, but none of the keepers wanted to hold on to him. He later left for Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal. After thinking he disappeared, he came back into the national team and has been consistently good the chances he's gotten. Definitely a wildcard for the opponents to look out for.
Forwards
#10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (30): Let's make no mistake about it; Sweden's chances in this tournament depend totally on "Ibra". One of the best Swedish players ever, he carries a ton of responsibility, especially so as he is the captain. I probably don't need to tell you about the amazing career this man has had. Currently playing in Milan, he was the top scorer for this season. He has recently given great performances in the national team which is something he's struggled with earlier. He can play as a deep-lying striker in more of a supplying role, or as the tip of the spear. Amazing technique, vision, passing and a great shot, Zlatan is one of the most versatile forwards in modern football. Deceptively quick for his size and incredibly strong, he's a big danger for every defence in the world.
#11 - Johan Elmander (31): The energizer bunny of the Swedish national team, he can seemingly run for days. Recent years he has begun scoring more regularly (yay for experience) and as such has become a bigger threat himself. One of the biggest team players in the team, and extremely valuable. Currently injured, so it's a race to become healthy for Elmander.
#14 - Tobias Hysén (30): Son of former Swedish national Glenn Hysén, Tobias has spent his entire career in Sweden, save for a year in Sunderland. Quick forward with an eye for goals. Not likely to get much playing time.
#20 - Ola Toivonen (25): Very strong attacker with a mighty shot. Tall and a big threat on corner with his heading ability. Likely to start beside Ibra if Elmander is still injured when the matches kick off.
#22 - Markus Rosenberg (29): Has not been given much of a chance in recent years due to bad form and few goals. Hasn't seemed very inspired to play for Sweden, but was selected after scoring some goals for Werder Bremen this season.
The Manager
Erik Hamrén (54): Just look at this handsome beast. After spending some years in Denmark and Norway as a coach, he was chosen for the Swedish national team. Has shown off some strategic wit lately, with some great substitutions resulting in goals and wins. Opted to change the Swedish line-up from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, and secured another championship qualification for Sweden, after finishing second in the group behind the Netherlands, beating them 3-2 and effectively ending their 17 game long winning streak.
I think Sweden should have a good chance of getting out of the group. Naturally England and France are great teams, but England is injury-plagued and France is a dark horse to take home the entire tournament, but both are definitely beatable. Ukraine should be a solid three-pointer in the opening game and will hopefully set the tone for a good Swedish tournament run.
Btw, they're currently playing a friendly against Serbia and after the first half the standing is 1-1, after goals by Toivonen and Subotic.
2-1 Sweden now, after a penalty from Zlatan.
Feel free to feel stupid now or make excuses like "I didnt follow the thread." Either way being presumptuous is pretty foolish. but then again your probably just being patriotic. So patriotic you nip at your own.
Also nice Einaudi plug in that Sweden rightup Judas ill do one to..
On June 08 2012 10:51 NuclearJudas wrote: I'm not sure that I would call England's defence the strongest part of their team. Hart is a great keeper, for sure, but the back four shows weakness to me. Cole is obviously the safest card. Terry is a damn good defender but has shown that he can do some extremely stupid shit sometimes. Lescott is usually solid, but has made some mind-boggling mistakes (he was shit against QPR, imo). Having Cahill get injured set them back so badly, since Cahill and Terry were really finding a good rhythm together. The right back position is such a huge question mark, with Johnson (the master of over-extending) and Kelly (while a good talent, not at all ready for a championship like this, imo).
For me, the midfield is a bigger threat. Young has had an amazing season and is so hard to stop. The Ox is a beast, and has shown during the season that he is ready for some damn big matches. Walcott is good (come at me, haters), although his defending leaves a lot to be desired. Gerrard has seen better days but is still a crazy good midfielder and a strong leader for a team with big egos. Milner is damn good, and has some sick crossing if needed. Parker is a very hard worker and just a great all-round player. Downing (L O L) and Henderson (who I still believe has a good future to be had) are novelty picks, but might surprise.
England's forward selection looks great. Carrol had a good run to close out the season and can give some aerial power up front. Jermaine Defoe brings the pain. The man just knows how to score again and again. Welbeck is looking great and will be very hard to deal with (especially for Sweden), and you guys know that Rooney will score against Ukraine, right? Because he will. England's whole group play is decided against France. If they take a point, they have a great chance. If they lose, I think they bomb out pretty hard.
omg, only fifteen hours left to the first match, hype hype hype hype hype hype hype
You're not gonna have Rooney against France or Sweden. See, that'll complicate things. I seriously hope you don't expect Welbeck to fill up a striker of Rooney's caliber, right? You tell us to worry about Welbeck whilst you have to deal with Ibrahimovíc? Do you even watch football?
The true question is whether or not France will show great strength. France is a team that can easily be the best in the world, as well as a complete catastrophe. You guys will face France in the first game, THAT will determine the outcome of the group for England's sake. Sweden vs England is a draw.
#1 - Andreas Isaksson (30): "Isak" is our definite first choice. He's got very quick reflexes and can make some ridiculous saves. Unfortunately, he's not as solid as one would like the keeper of the national team to be. His handling leaves much to be desired, and his communication with the back four varies greatly, sometimes leading to goals for the other team. He needs to be at his best for this tournament for us, or we might go out 0-3. Thankfully he usually steps it up during big competitions, so hopefully he can do that again. The fact that PSV apparently wants to cut him loose after the season is definitely a bit worrying.
#12 - Johan Wiland (31): Very solid keeper with great reflexes. Was named in "The Team of the Week" once in the 2010-11 UEFA Champion's League.
#23 - Pär Hansson (25): First keeper for reigning Swedish champions, Helsingborgs IF. Haven't seen all too much of him, but I assume he's mostly here to see and learn, and is unlikely to play.
Defenders
#2 - Mikael Lustig (25): Looked like a great talent in his first season or two for Rosenborg, but has cooled down since. Transferred to Celtic where he has been injured and benched for some time. He has most likely lost his right back position due to his lack of playing time.
#3 - Olof Mellberg (34): One of the definitive leaders in the team. Has a heap of routine from playing for clubs like Racing Santander, Aston Villa and Juventus. The one player many look to for guidance and leadership, even after he resigned his captaincy.
#4 - Andreas Granqvist (27): Quite the late bloomer, he made some noise owning up in Groningen, earning himself a transfer to Genoa. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see much of him in Genoa, but he's been very good when given the chance in Sweden. Expect him to be the choice for right back ahead of Lustig. Goal.com named him as one of the players to watch out for.
#5 - Martin Olsson (24): Speedy defender with a good eye for crossing. Very offensively minded left back. Last season he played for Blackburn, who were sadly relegated, leading to him wanting out of the club. Was not super impressed from what I saw of him in the PL, but he looks like a solid mid-table club player, imo. He's been very solid in the national team and adds to the offensive power. Expect him to cause some trouble for his opponents come the Euro.
#13 - Jonas Olsson (29): Very underrated defender in my opinion. A defensive leader for Wigan, who he helped avoid relegation. Solid defender with good positioning. Most likely the starting centre back with Mellberg after Majstorovic's injury.
15 - Mikael Antonsson (31): Solid defender. Was a part of the Copenhagen team that made splashes in the Champion's League, but has since moved to Bologna. Good player to have as a Plan B.
17 - Behrang Safari (27): Was a very interesting young prospect but hasn't really turned into the player we hoped. Had a good season or two in Basel which earned him the left back position in the national team, but he literally threw that away. With a mindbogglingly stupid throw in, he gave the ball to Wesley Sneijder, who then passed the ball in to Afellay, who scored. A goal that looked like it would cost Sweden a spot at the European championship. Recently played in the friendly against Iceland and wans't all too bad, but he remains a worrisome defensive liability whenever he plays.
Midfielders
#6 - Rasmus Elm (24): Solid midfielder with excellent passing and amazing free-kicks. After good seasons in Erevidise side AZ Alkmaar, he is reportedly a main interest for several large clubs, including Liverpool. A very good player to have come in towards the end of games to take set pieces and such. Likely to start out on the bench.
#7 - Sebastian Larsson (26): A talent brought up in the Arsenal youth system. Left the Gunners due to too little playing time and joined Birmingham, where he became one o the club's most valuable players. He departed when they fell to the championship and joined Sunderland, where he scored on his debut. He's had an excellent debut season and has been a regular starter for the national team the last few years. Absolutely amazing crosser.
#8 - Anders Svensson (35): An incredibly experienced midfielder, Svensson oozes class. Great passer and set-piece specialist (Remember his free-kick against Argentina in 2002? I sure do). Brings so much to the team, and as vice-captain many look to him for inspiration. Has taken a more defensive position after the retirement of Tobias Linderoth. Almost never has bad games.
#9 - Kim Källström (29): Has always had to stand in the shade of Svensson, but in recent years have gotten the chance to play with him in the centre midfield. Great vision, passing and has a monstrous shot. Another great set-piece taker. 16 - Pontus Wernbloom (25): A warrior on the midfield. Has a temperament which could come to haunt him (I remember him getting into it with Balotelli during the U21 tourney a couple of years ago). Transferred to CSKA Moscow and managed to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Good defensive midfielder and strong personality on the pitch. Has shown off some great passing recently, among others a brilliant cross to Wilhelmsson during the last friendly against Iceland.
18 - Samuel Holmén (27): I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this pick. Holmén never impressed me, and just felt like a player that left for money. Apparently he's been good in Turkey, playing for Istanbul BB, so who knows. Doubt he'll make much of an impact.
#19 - Emir Bajrami (24): Very speedy and technical winger. Got his time in Twente destroyed by injuries and being benched. Looking to leave the club this summer. I can see him doing good in Italy or Spain. If he's in good shape, expect him to start and hopefully cause trouble for the opponents.
#21 - Christian Wilhelmsson (32): Such a wasted career this man has had. After showing great promise during his years in Anderlecht, he transferred to Nantes. Nantes loaned him left and right from Roma, to Bolton, to Deportivo, but none of the keepers wanted to hold on to him. He later left for Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal. After thinking he disappeared, he came back into the national team and has been consistently good the chances he's gotten. Definitely a wildcard for the opponents to look out for.
Forwards
#10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (30): Let's make no mistake about it; Sweden's chances in this tournament depend totally on "Ibra". One of the best Swedish players ever, he carries a ton of responsibility, especially so as he is the captain. I probably don't need to tell you about the amazing career this man has had. Currently playing in Milan, he was the top scorer for this season. He has recently given great performances in the national team which is something he's struggled with earlier. He can play as a deep-lying striker in more of a supplying role, or as the tip of the spear. Amazing technique, vision, passing and a great shot, Zlatan is one of the most versatile forwards in modern football. Deceptively quick for his size and incredibly strong, he's a big danger for every defence in the world.
#11 - Johan Elmander (31): The energizer bunny of the Swedish national team, he can seemingly run for days. Recent years he has begun scoring more regularly (yay for experience) and as such has become a bigger threat himself. One of the biggest team players in the team, and extremely valuable. Currently injured, so it's a race to become healthy for Elmander.
#14 - Tobias Hysén (30): Son of former Swedish national Glenn Hysén, Tobias has spent his entire career in Sweden, save for a year in Sunderland. Quick forward with an eye for goals. Not likely to get much playing time.
#20 - Ola Toivonen (25): Very strong attacker with a mighty shot. Tall and a big threat on corner with his heading ability. Likely to start beside Ibra if Elmander is still injured when the matches kick off.
#22 - Markus Rosenberg (29): Has not been given much of a chance in recent years due to bad form and few goals. Hasn't seemed very inspired to play for Sweden, but was selected after scoring some goals for Werder Bremen this season.
The Manager
Erik Hamrén (54): Just look at this handsome beast. After spending some years in Denmark and Norway as a coach, he was chosen for the Swedish national team. Has shown off some strategic wit lately, with some great substitutions resulting in goals and wins. Opted to change the Swedish line-up from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, and secured another championship qualification for Sweden, after finishing second in the group behind the Netherlands, beating them 3-2 and effectively ending their 17 game long winning streak.
I think Sweden should have a good chance of getting out of the group. Naturally England and France are great teams, but England is injury-plagued and France is a dark horse to take home the entire tournament, but both are definitely beatable. Ukraine should be a solid three-pointer in the opening game and will hopefully set the tone for a good Swedish tournament run.
Btw, they're currently playing a friendly against Serbia and after the first half the standing is 1-1, after goals by Toivonen and Subotic.
2-1 Sweden now, after a penalty from Zlatan.
Feel free to feel stupid now or make excuses like "I didnt follow the thread." Either way being presumptuous is pretty foolish. but then again your probably just being patriotic. So patriotic you nip at your own.
Also nice Einaudi plug in that Sweden rightup Judas ill do one to..
Why would I feel stupid? About what? About calling England vs Sweden a draw? I did even respond to my fellow countryman 2 pages back about his post about the Swedish team.
On June 08 2012 10:51 NuclearJudas wrote: I'm not sure that I would call England's defence the strongest part of their team. Hart is a great keeper, for sure, but the back four shows weakness to me. Cole is obviously the safest card. Terry is a damn good defender but has shown that he can do some extremely stupid shit sometimes. Lescott is usually solid, but has made some mind-boggling mistakes (he was shit against QPR, imo). Having Cahill get injured set them back so badly, since Cahill and Terry were really finding a good rhythm together. The right back position is such a huge question mark, with Johnson (the master of over-extending) and Kelly (while a good talent, not at all ready for a championship like this, imo).
For me, the midfield is a bigger threat. Young has had an amazing season and is so hard to stop. The Ox is a beast, and has shown during the season that he is ready for some damn big matches. Walcott is good (come at me, haters), although his defending leaves a lot to be desired. Gerrard has seen better days but is still a crazy good midfielder and a strong leader for a team with big egos. Milner is damn good, and has some sick crossing if needed. Parker is a very hard worker and just a great all-round player. Downing (L O L) and Henderson (who I still believe has a good future to be had) are novelty picks, but might surprise.
England's forward selection looks great. Carrol had a good run to close out the season and can give some aerial power up front. Jermaine Defoe brings the pain. The man just knows how to score again and again. Welbeck is looking great and will be very hard to deal with (especially for Sweden), and you guys know that Rooney will score against Ukraine, right? Because he will. England's whole group play is decided against France. If they take a point, they have a great chance. If they lose, I think they bomb out pretty hard.
omg, only fifteen hours left to the first match, hype hype hype hype hype hype hype
You're not gonna have Rooney against France or Sweden. See, that'll complicate things. I seriously hope you don't expect Welbeck to fill up a striker of Rooney's caliber, right? You tell us to worry about Welbeck whilst you have to deal with Ibrahimovíc? Do you even watch football?
The true question is whether or not France will show great strength. France is a team that can easily be the best in the world, as well as a complete catastrophe. You guys will face France in the first game, THAT will determine the outcome of the group for England's sake. Sweden vs England is a draw.
On June 06 2012 03:00 NuclearJudas wrote: Aight, time for a little run-down on Sweden, bros:
#1 - Andreas Isaksson (30): "Isak" is our definite first choice. He's got very quick reflexes and can make some ridiculous saves. Unfortunately, he's not as solid as one would like the keeper of the national team to be. His handling leaves much to be desired, and his communication with the back four varies greatly, sometimes leading to goals for the other team. He needs to be at his best for this tournament for us, or we might go out 0-3. Thankfully he usually steps it up during big competitions, so hopefully he can do that again. The fact that PSV apparently wants to cut him loose after the season is definitely a bit worrying.
#12 - Johan Wiland (31): Very solid keeper with great reflexes. Was named in "The Team of the Week" once in the 2010-11 UEFA Champion's League.
#23 - Pär Hansson (25): First keeper for reigning Swedish champions, Helsingborgs IF. Haven't seen all too much of him, but I assume he's mostly here to see and learn, and is unlikely to play.
Defenders
#2 - Mikael Lustig (25): Looked like a great talent in his first season or two for Rosenborg, but has cooled down since. Transferred to Celtic where he has been injured and benched for some time. He has most likely lost his right back position due to his lack of playing time.
#3 - Olof Mellberg (34): One of the definitive leaders in the team. Has a heap of routine from playing for clubs like Racing Santander, Aston Villa and Juventus. The one player many look to for guidance and leadership, even after he resigned his captaincy.
#4 - Andreas Granqvist (27): Quite the late bloomer, he made some noise owning up in Groningen, earning himself a transfer to Genoa. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see much of him in Genoa, but he's been very good when given the chance in Sweden. Expect him to be the choice for right back ahead of Lustig. Goal.com named him as one of the players to watch out for.
#5 - Martin Olsson (24): Speedy defender with a good eye for crossing. Very offensively minded left back. Last season he played for Blackburn, who were sadly relegated, leading to him wanting out of the club. Was not super impressed from what I saw of him in the PL, but he looks like a solid mid-table club player, imo. He's been very solid in the national team and adds to the offensive power. Expect him to cause some trouble for his opponents come the Euro.
#13 - Jonas Olsson (29): Very underrated defender in my opinion. A defensive leader for Wigan, who he helped avoid relegation. Solid defender with good positioning. Most likely the starting centre back with Mellberg after Majstorovic's injury.
15 - Mikael Antonsson (31): Solid defender. Was a part of the Copenhagen team that made splashes in the Champion's League, but has since moved to Bologna. Good player to have as a Plan B.
17 - Behrang Safari (27): Was a very interesting young prospect but hasn't really turned into the player we hoped. Had a good season or two in Basel which earned him the left back position in the national team, but he literally threw that away. With a mindbogglingly stupid throw in, he gave the ball to Wesley Sneijder, who then passed the ball in to Afellay, who scored. A goal that looked like it would cost Sweden a spot at the European championship. Recently played in the friendly against Iceland and wans't all too bad, but he remains a worrisome defensive liability whenever he plays.
Midfielders
#6 - Rasmus Elm (24): Solid midfielder with excellent passing and amazing free-kicks. After good seasons in Erevidise side AZ Alkmaar, he is reportedly a main interest for several large clubs, including Liverpool. A very good player to have come in towards the end of games to take set pieces and such. Likely to start out on the bench.
#7 - Sebastian Larsson (26): A talent brought up in the Arsenal youth system. Left the Gunners due to too little playing time and joined Birmingham, where he became one o the club's most valuable players. He departed when they fell to the championship and joined Sunderland, where he scored on his debut. He's had an excellent debut season and has been a regular starter for the national team the last few years. Absolutely amazing crosser.
#8 - Anders Svensson (35): An incredibly experienced midfielder, Svensson oozes class. Great passer and set-piece specialist (Remember his free-kick against Argentina in 2002? I sure do). Brings so much to the team, and as vice-captain many look to him for inspiration. Has taken a more defensive position after the retirement of Tobias Linderoth. Almost never has bad games.
#9 - Kim Källström (29): Has always had to stand in the shade of Svensson, but in recent years have gotten the chance to play with him in the centre midfield. Great vision, passing and has a monstrous shot. Another great set-piece taker. 16 - Pontus Wernbloom (25): A warrior on the midfield. Has a temperament which could come to haunt him (I remember him getting into it with Balotelli during the U21 tourney a couple of years ago). Transferred to CSKA Moscow and managed to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Good defensive midfielder and strong personality on the pitch. Has shown off some great passing recently, among others a brilliant cross to Wilhelmsson during the last friendly against Iceland.
18 - Samuel Holmén (27): I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this pick. Holmén never impressed me, and just felt like a player that left for money. Apparently he's been good in Turkey, playing for Istanbul BB, so who knows. Doubt he'll make much of an impact.
#19 - Emir Bajrami (24): Very speedy and technical winger. Got his time in Twente destroyed by injuries and being benched. Looking to leave the club this summer. I can see him doing good in Italy or Spain. If he's in good shape, expect him to start and hopefully cause trouble for the opponents.
#21 - Christian Wilhelmsson (32): Such a wasted career this man has had. After showing great promise during his years in Anderlecht, he transferred to Nantes. Nantes loaned him left and right from Roma, to Bolton, to Deportivo, but none of the keepers wanted to hold on to him. He later left for Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal. After thinking he disappeared, he came back into the national team and has been consistently good the chances he's gotten. Definitely a wildcard for the opponents to look out for.
Forwards
#10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (30): Let's make no mistake about it; Sweden's chances in this tournament depend totally on "Ibra". One of the best Swedish players ever, he carries a ton of responsibility, especially so as he is the captain. I probably don't need to tell you about the amazing career this man has had. Currently playing in Milan, he was the top scorer for this season. He has recently given great performances in the national team which is something he's struggled with earlier. He can play as a deep-lying striker in more of a supplying role, or as the tip of the spear. Amazing technique, vision, passing and a great shot, Zlatan is one of the most versatile forwards in modern football. Deceptively quick for his size and incredibly strong, he's a big danger for every defence in the world.
#11 - Johan Elmander (31): The energizer bunny of the Swedish national team, he can seemingly run for days. Recent years he has begun scoring more regularly (yay for experience) and as such has become a bigger threat himself. One of the biggest team players in the team, and extremely valuable. Currently injured, so it's a race to become healthy for Elmander.
#14 - Tobias Hysén (30): Son of former Swedish national Glenn Hysén, Tobias has spent his entire career in Sweden, save for a year in Sunderland. Quick forward with an eye for goals. Not likely to get much playing time.
#20 - Ola Toivonen (25): Very strong attacker with a mighty shot. Tall and a big threat on corner with his heading ability. Likely to start beside Ibra if Elmander is still injured when the matches kick off.
#22 - Markus Rosenberg (29): Has not been given much of a chance in recent years due to bad form and few goals. Hasn't seemed very inspired to play for Sweden, but was selected after scoring some goals for Werder Bremen this season.
The Manager
Erik Hamrén (54): Just look at this handsome beast. After spending some years in Denmark and Norway as a coach, he was chosen for the Swedish national team. Has shown off some strategic wit lately, with some great substitutions resulting in goals and wins. Opted to change the Swedish line-up from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, and secured another championship qualification for Sweden, after finishing second in the group behind the Netherlands, beating them 3-2 and effectively ending their 17 game long winning streak.
I think Sweden should have a good chance of getting out of the group. Naturally England and France are great teams, but England is injury-plagued and France is a dark horse to take home the entire tournament, but both are definitely beatable. Ukraine should be a solid three-pointer in the opening game and will hopefully set the tone for a good Swedish tournament run.
Btw, they're currently playing a friendly against Serbia and after the first half the standing is 1-1, after goals by Toivonen and Subotic.
2-1 Sweden now, after a penalty from Zlatan.
Feel free to feel stupid now or make excuses like "I didnt follow the thread." Either way being presumptuous is pretty foolish. but then again your probably just being patriotic. So patriotic you nip at your own.
Also nice Einaudi plug in that Sweden rightup Judas ill do one to..
Why would I feel stupid? About what? About calling England vs Sweden a draw? I did even respond to my fellow countryman 2 pages back about his post about the Swedish team.
I figured it was rather obvious but your talking to him like hes an England supporter. Or do I need to requote the usage of the word You a million times.
On June 08 2012 10:51 NuclearJudas wrote: I'm not sure that I would call England's defence the strongest part of their team. Hart is a great keeper, for sure, but the back four shows weakness to me. Cole is obviously the safest card. Terry is a damn good defender but has shown that he can do some extremely stupid shit sometimes. Lescott is usually solid, but has made some mind-boggling mistakes (he was shit against QPR, imo). Having Cahill get injured set them back so badly, since Cahill and Terry were really finding a good rhythm together. The right back position is such a huge question mark, with Johnson (the master of over-extending) and Kelly (while a good talent, not at all ready for a championship like this, imo).
For me, the midfield is a bigger threat. Young has had an amazing season and is so hard to stop. The Ox is a beast, and has shown during the season that he is ready for some damn big matches. Walcott is good (come at me, haters), although his defending leaves a lot to be desired. Gerrard has seen better days but is still a crazy good midfielder and a strong leader for a team with big egos. Milner is damn good, and has some sick crossing if needed. Parker is a very hard worker and just a great all-round player. Downing (L O L) and Henderson (who I still believe has a good future to be had) are novelty picks, but might surprise.
England's forward selection looks great. Carrol had a good run to close out the season and can give some aerial power up front. Jermaine Defoe brings the pain. The man just knows how to score again and again. Welbeck is looking great and will be very hard to deal with (especially for Sweden), and you guys know that Rooney will score against Ukraine, right? Because he will. England's whole group play is decided against France. If they take a point, they have a great chance. If they lose, I think they bomb out pretty hard.
omg, only fifteen hours left to the first match, hype hype hype hype hype hype hype
You're not gonna have Rooney against France or Sweden. See, that'll complicate things. I seriously hope you don't expect Welbeck to fill up a striker of Rooney's caliber, right? You tell us to worry about Welbeck whilst you have to deal with Ibrahimovíc? Do you even watch football?
The true question is whether or not France will show great strength. France is a team that can easily be the best in the world, as well as a complete catastrophe. You guys will face France in the first game, THAT will determine the outcome of the group for England's sake. Sweden vs England is a draw.
On June 06 2012 03:00 NuclearJudas wrote: Aight, time for a little run-down on Sweden, bros:
#1 - Andreas Isaksson (30): "Isak" is our definite first choice. He's got very quick reflexes and can make some ridiculous saves. Unfortunately, he's not as solid as one would like the keeper of the national team to be. His handling leaves much to be desired, and his communication with the back four varies greatly, sometimes leading to goals for the other team. He needs to be at his best for this tournament for us, or we might go out 0-3. Thankfully he usually steps it up during big competitions, so hopefully he can do that again. The fact that PSV apparently wants to cut him loose after the season is definitely a bit worrying.
#12 - Johan Wiland (31): Very solid keeper with great reflexes. Was named in "The Team of the Week" once in the 2010-11 UEFA Champion's League.
#23 - Pär Hansson (25): First keeper for reigning Swedish champions, Helsingborgs IF. Haven't seen all too much of him, but I assume he's mostly here to see and learn, and is unlikely to play.
Defenders
#2 - Mikael Lustig (25): Looked like a great talent in his first season or two for Rosenborg, but has cooled down since. Transferred to Celtic where he has been injured and benched for some time. He has most likely lost his right back position due to his lack of playing time.
#3 - Olof Mellberg (34): One of the definitive leaders in the team. Has a heap of routine from playing for clubs like Racing Santander, Aston Villa and Juventus. The one player many look to for guidance and leadership, even after he resigned his captaincy.
#4 - Andreas Granqvist (27): Quite the late bloomer, he made some noise owning up in Groningen, earning himself a transfer to Genoa. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see much of him in Genoa, but he's been very good when given the chance in Sweden. Expect him to be the choice for right back ahead of Lustig. Goal.com named him as one of the players to watch out for.
#5 - Martin Olsson (24): Speedy defender with a good eye for crossing. Very offensively minded left back. Last season he played for Blackburn, who were sadly relegated, leading to him wanting out of the club. Was not super impressed from what I saw of him in the PL, but he looks like a solid mid-table club player, imo. He's been very solid in the national team and adds to the offensive power. Expect him to cause some trouble for his opponents come the Euro.
#13 - Jonas Olsson (29): Very underrated defender in my opinion. A defensive leader for Wigan, who he helped avoid relegation. Solid defender with good positioning. Most likely the starting centre back with Mellberg after Majstorovic's injury.
15 - Mikael Antonsson (31): Solid defender. Was a part of the Copenhagen team that made splashes in the Champion's League, but has since moved to Bologna. Good player to have as a Plan B.
17 - Behrang Safari (27): Was a very interesting young prospect but hasn't really turned into the player we hoped. Had a good season or two in Basel which earned him the left back position in the national team, but he literally threw that away. With a mindbogglingly stupid throw in, he gave the ball to Wesley Sneijder, who then passed the ball in to Afellay, who scored. A goal that looked like it would cost Sweden a spot at the European championship. Recently played in the friendly against Iceland and wans't all too bad, but he remains a worrisome defensive liability whenever he plays.
Midfielders
#6 - Rasmus Elm (24): Solid midfielder with excellent passing and amazing free-kicks. After good seasons in Erevidise side AZ Alkmaar, he is reportedly a main interest for several large clubs, including Liverpool. A very good player to have come in towards the end of games to take set pieces and such. Likely to start out on the bench.
#7 - Sebastian Larsson (26): A talent brought up in the Arsenal youth system. Left the Gunners due to too little playing time and joined Birmingham, where he became one o the club's most valuable players. He departed when they fell to the championship and joined Sunderland, where he scored on his debut. He's had an excellent debut season and has been a regular starter for the national team the last few years. Absolutely amazing crosser.
#8 - Anders Svensson (35): An incredibly experienced midfielder, Svensson oozes class. Great passer and set-piece specialist (Remember his free-kick against Argentina in 2002? I sure do). Brings so much to the team, and as vice-captain many look to him for inspiration. Has taken a more defensive position after the retirement of Tobias Linderoth. Almost never has bad games.
#9 - Kim Källström (29): Has always had to stand in the shade of Svensson, but in recent years have gotten the chance to play with him in the centre midfield. Great vision, passing and has a monstrous shot. Another great set-piece taker. 16 - Pontus Wernbloom (25): A warrior on the midfield. Has a temperament which could come to haunt him (I remember him getting into it with Balotelli during the U21 tourney a couple of years ago). Transferred to CSKA Moscow and managed to score against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Good defensive midfielder and strong personality on the pitch. Has shown off some great passing recently, among others a brilliant cross to Wilhelmsson during the last friendly against Iceland.
18 - Samuel Holmén (27): I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this pick. Holmén never impressed me, and just felt like a player that left for money. Apparently he's been good in Turkey, playing for Istanbul BB, so who knows. Doubt he'll make much of an impact.
#19 - Emir Bajrami (24): Very speedy and technical winger. Got his time in Twente destroyed by injuries and being benched. Looking to leave the club this summer. I can see him doing good in Italy or Spain. If he's in good shape, expect him to start and hopefully cause trouble for the opponents.
#21 - Christian Wilhelmsson (32): Such a wasted career this man has had. After showing great promise during his years in Anderlecht, he transferred to Nantes. Nantes loaned him left and right from Roma, to Bolton, to Deportivo, but none of the keepers wanted to hold on to him. He later left for Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal. After thinking he disappeared, he came back into the national team and has been consistently good the chances he's gotten. Definitely a wildcard for the opponents to look out for.
Forwards
#10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (30): Let's make no mistake about it; Sweden's chances in this tournament depend totally on "Ibra". One of the best Swedish players ever, he carries a ton of responsibility, especially so as he is the captain. I probably don't need to tell you about the amazing career this man has had. Currently playing in Milan, he was the top scorer for this season. He has recently given great performances in the national team which is something he's struggled with earlier. He can play as a deep-lying striker in more of a supplying role, or as the tip of the spear. Amazing technique, vision, passing and a great shot, Zlatan is one of the most versatile forwards in modern football. Deceptively quick for his size and incredibly strong, he's a big danger for every defence in the world.
#11 - Johan Elmander (31): The energizer bunny of the Swedish national team, he can seemingly run for days. Recent years he has begun scoring more regularly (yay for experience) and as such has become a bigger threat himself. One of the biggest team players in the team, and extremely valuable. Currently injured, so it's a race to become healthy for Elmander.
#14 - Tobias Hysén (30): Son of former Swedish national Glenn Hysén, Tobias has spent his entire career in Sweden, save for a year in Sunderland. Quick forward with an eye for goals. Not likely to get much playing time.
#20 - Ola Toivonen (25): Very strong attacker with a mighty shot. Tall and a big threat on corner with his heading ability. Likely to start beside Ibra if Elmander is still injured when the matches kick off.
#22 - Markus Rosenberg (29): Has not been given much of a chance in recent years due to bad form and few goals. Hasn't seemed very inspired to play for Sweden, but was selected after scoring some goals for Werder Bremen this season.
The Manager
Erik Hamrén (54): Just look at this handsome beast. After spending some years in Denmark and Norway as a coach, he was chosen for the Swedish national team. Has shown off some strategic wit lately, with some great substitutions resulting in goals and wins. Opted to change the Swedish line-up from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, and secured another championship qualification for Sweden, after finishing second in the group behind the Netherlands, beating them 3-2 and effectively ending their 17 game long winning streak.
I think Sweden should have a good chance of getting out of the group. Naturally England and France are great teams, but England is injury-plagued and France is a dark horse to take home the entire tournament, but both are definitely beatable. Ukraine should be a solid three-pointer in the opening game and will hopefully set the tone for a good Swedish tournament run.
Btw, they're currently playing a friendly against Serbia and after the first half the standing is 1-1, after goals by Toivonen and Subotic.
2-1 Sweden now, after a penalty from Zlatan.
Feel free to feel stupid now or make excuses like "I didnt follow the thread." Either way being presumptuous is pretty foolish. but then again your probably just being patriotic. So patriotic you nip at your own.
Also nice Einaudi plug in that Sweden rightup Judas ill do one to..
Why would I feel stupid? About what? About calling England vs Sweden a draw? I did even respond to my fellow countryman 2 pages back about his post about the Swedish team.
I figured it was rather obvious but your talking to him like hes an England supporter. Or do I need to requote the usage of the word You a million times.
LOL. Now I do indeed feel stupid. I quoted the wrong guy in my original post.
As for Polish national team, make no mistakes about it; we are very unlikely to come out of our group, even despite good results in friendlies and possibly the best team we had since... well, maybe I was born. The big difference is the mentality Polish players have for big events and big pressure. Simply speaking, they underperform under the expectations and I expect nothing else here. Granted, we have Lewandowski, Blaszczykowski and Piszczek but the rest of team will most probably collapse psychologically.
Today, I expect a tense, underwhelming match with noone willing to risk a defeat. I think Poland will score some lucky goal, possibly from dubious penalty or rebound. If it happens, the massive shitstorm will rage across the country with ultraoptimistic predictions (even now, there are way too many of them here). But Russia seems extremly tough and unlikely to get beaten. And if we go for now-or-never match with some chances to advance, we like almost ALWAYS lose, so I expect nothing less against Czech team.
As for Spain; yeah, on paper Germany looks more potent, but Spain not only plays like Barcelona; it almost IS Barcelona, so any player that comes in always knows exactly what to do on the pitch. I don't think Germans will reach this level of team unity, although they will surely go far in this tournament, just as usual...
You shouldn't be that pessimistic! Lewa, Kuba and Piszczek are pretty good! Russia and Czech are not that strong anymore. I'm rooting for Poland as a Dortmund-Fan and i'm sure you will get out of your Group.
I agreed with a lot of what you say, Sweden are heavily underrated but i do think england will qualify over them that said. I think the reason why their so underrated they have very few really well known players at least not in the EPL like England have Rooney, Ronaldo for Portugal etc. Though the obvious exception is the player everrrrryone who watches football knows. but past that i can name very few.
I dont agree with the bit about england having a weak defence, Id say our strength is our defence and our bigger weaknesses is no rooney for the first two games and with IMO at least kinda substandard strikers, defoe is unavailable atm for personal issues, Carroll is kinda bad, welbeck is good but very young.
agreed about portugal though and lololol the last bit made me laugh so hard, its so true, its gonna be a absolute bloodbath. [/b
I have a pretty good feeling heading into the championship, albeit with a question mark over our defence. Zlatan and Elmander should get great chances against Ukraine and a fairly weak England defence. France will probably stomp us pretty bad, unfortunately.
I don't see Portugal reaching the knock-out stage at all. They have a pretty solid and technical team, but who's going to be their main goal scorer? Postiga and Almeida have good records in the national team, but I don't see them scoring against giants like Netherlands and Germany. Ronaldo will have to bring the fucking pain for Portugal to even have a chance. Also Pepe and Bruno Alves, lol. Somebody will get killed receive a red card for sure.
You're not gonna have Rooney against France or Sweden. See, that'll complicate things. I seriously hope you don't expect Welbeck to fill up a striker of Rooney's caliber, right? You tell us to worry about Welbeck whilst you have to deal with Ibrahimovíc? Do you even watch football?
The true question is whether or not France will show great strength. France is a team that can easily be the best in the world, as well as a complete catastrophe. You guys will face France in the first game, THAT will determine the outcome of the group for England's sake. Sweden vs England is a draw.
I watch football. Welbeck usually tries. which I guess is a nice quality to have.
As for Polish national team, make no mistakes about it; we are very unlikely to come out of our group, even despite good results in friendlies and possibly the best team we had since... well, maybe I was born. The big difference is the mentality Polish players have for big events and big pressure. Simply speaking, they underperform under the expectations and I expect nothing else here. Granted, we have Lewandowski, Blaszczykowski and Piszczek but the rest of team will most probably collapse psychologically.
Today, I expect a tense, underwhelming match with noone willing to risk a defeat. I think Poland will score some lucky goal, possibly from dubious penalty or rebound. If it happens, the massive shitstorm will rage across the country with ultraoptimistic predictions (even now, there are way too many of them here). But Russia seems extremly tough and unlikely to get beaten. And if we go for now-or-never match with some chances to advance, we like almost ALWAYS lose, so I expect nothing less against Czech team.
As for Spain; yeah, on paper Germany looks more potent, but Spain not only plays like Barcelona; it almost IS Barcelona, so any player that comes in always knows exactly what to do on the pitch. I don't think Germans will reach this level of team unity, although they will surely go far in this tournament, just as usual...
Dude, dont be so pessimistic. The Polish team might be encouraged by playing at home and play the tournament of their lifes. I expect them to get to 2nd in their group.
England will lose to France 4-1, but beat Sweden 1-0 and Ukraine 2-0 and beat the heavy favorite Spain 3-1 in Overtime and lose in the semi 3-0. No Rooney in the first 2 games? No big deal. Russia in 2008 was without Arshavin in the first 2 games too. In case you didn't notice, I'm predicting England to do exactly the same thing Russia did 4 years ago haha
On June 08 2012 21:00 samw wrote: I watch football. Welbeck usually tries. which I guess is a nice quality to have.
Haha, true. I've seen Welbeck play plenty of times this year, he's a threat indeed. But I'm more afraid of Rooney's rocketshots. That being said, England has superior defense (Terry & Cole solid as diamonds. Real diamonds, not the SC2 league!) but might lack the tip of the spear with Defoe having personal issues and Rooney being sent off.
On June 08 2012 21:00 samw wrote: I watch football. Welbeck usually tries. which I guess is a nice quality to have.
Haha, true. I've seen Welbeck play plenty of times this year, he's a threat indeed. But I'm more afraid of Rooney's rocketshots. That being said, England has superior defense (Terry & Cole solid as diamonds. Real diamonds, not the SC2 league!) but might lack the tip of the spear with Defoe having personal issues and Rooney being sent off.
On June 08 2012 17:23 ParkwayDrive wrote: my picks: Group A: Russia, Greece Group B: Netherlands, Portugal Group C: Spain, Croatia Group D: Sweden, England
Winner: Netherlands
HAHA, you picked everything wrong lol :D Let me guess, you are american? Really funny :D
Here are the right picks: A: Poland, Russia B: Germany, Holland C: Spain, Croatia D: France, England
Champs: Germany
lol they are just predictions? and considering half yours are the same as mine.....dunno why you have to act ignorant
So the first 2 games are over, I am quite happy about the opening day. Both are good games but the Czech vs Russia is just better than the first one. Russia should have no problem qualifying from this group. Webb(the second game's ref) has a much better performance compare to his colleage Carlos velasco carballo
Only got to see the first 25 minutes of Poland - Greece, but saw the entire second game. Russia looks great, although they'll be thanking the Czech defenders for their quite bad performance tonight. Their right back (Selassie?) was pretty good, though, except for just standing around during the last goal.
Also, Dzagoev earning me a sweet 26 point for my fantasy team. Feels good.
Hey guys, a rare American here who actually plans to watch Euros...does anyone know a reliable place I can find streams of the games as I don't have access to cable? Also super psyched for Group of Death matches tomorrow :D
On June 09 2012 10:21 Imperium11 wrote: Hey guys, a rare American here who actually plans to watch Euros...does anyone know a reliable place I can find streams of the games as I don't have access to cable? Also super psyched for Group of Death matches tomorrow :D
http://www.thefirstrow.eu <-- this is the one I normally use, but i believe that ESPN also sends out the matches. Don't forget to watch tomorrow, than will be the killer matches from group B.
On June 09 2012 10:21 Imperium11 wrote: Hey guys, a rare American here who actually plans to watch Euros...does anyone know a reliable place I can find streams of the games as I don't have access to cable? Also super psyched for Group of Death matches tomorrow :D
http://www.thefirstrow.eu <-- this is the one I normally use, but i believe that ESPN also sends out the matches. Don't forget to watch tomorrow, than will be the killer matches from group B.
Thanks man, I wouldn't miss them for the world. Good luck to your country tomorrow vs. the Danes.
On June 09 2012 10:21 Imperium11 wrote: Hey guys, a rare American here who actually plans to watch Euros...does anyone know a reliable place I can find streams of the games as I don't have access to cable? Also super psyched for Group of Death matches tomorrow :D
If you're with Verizon or Brighthouse (maybe others but those are the two I've used) for Internet you can watch the VoDs/live matches for free. Check out ESPN 3, it's pretty great if you can get it free.
In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
On June 10 2012 17:03 HwangjaeTerran wrote: In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
Really just the D, they were considerably flatter and out of ideas as the game went on offensively as well, and lost the plot after the Danes scored for a bit, but they made chances the bad comes in at not converting. Second half was just Danes being really good at times. I dont think they are getting enough credit really. Kjaar and Agger were really solid aside from the odd chance that really the Dutch should be putting away.
I know, this is very biased... But the OP just seemed to be ill-informed
you realize he wrote that before the match ?! u even misquoted him, 'never count out denmark' in the next sentence.. way to post, realy.
I don't judge him based on Denmark winning... I'm just happy we did... I even pointed out my bias myself. But my question still stands... Regarding the FIFA World Rankings, why would you put Denmark (who's currently #9... #6 if you don't count the south american teams) as a b-list team?
My point was split in 2 - the first being Netherlands, Germany and Portugal being favorites - so I was just excited about Denmark actually proving people wrong.
The second part was wondering, how come he had Denmark as a b-list team, when they're (according to FIFA) the 9th best team in the world?
the fifa elo is purly based on the last opponents you played, its biased - look at uruguay.
Sure your right the ranking given from a guy whom the op quoted is arguable - placing portugal two levels over denmark is imo realy wrong, you even placed first in the qualifiers over them, denmark is totaly underrated which should be a realy good thing for you, would be very glad if you advanced with germany in group b, then even semi seems possible against group a teams ( im not realy that impressed with russia, good play vs very bad opponent )
In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
To be fair - from a danish point of view. Those two were handballs - and had I been from Holland I'd be furious to not get a single penalty when two were actually commited - however, you're right. One was ball-to-hand (rather than hand-to-ball), which means he didn't really "do" it. And the other one was in a situation the defender (Poulsen) was nowhere near a dutch player.
And tbh... Denmark wasn't the better team for 70minutes. RvP, Robben and Schneider were constant threats. The only thing keeping us in (the first 70 minutes) were solid defense, great goalkeeper, stoicism and a bit of luck (no penalties and RvP missing his 1v1 with the keeper).
Don't know what happened though. Straight after the 70-minute-mark, Holland just started playing straight up bad (no offense). Starting losing balls constantly. Just kicking the ball in random directions - most of the times straight into the feet of a danish player. Denmark not being able to punish it however was a bit sad. But with Rommedahl and Eriksen being either substituted - or tired we didn't have enough speed to press the issue.
On another note... Looking forward to the games today
On June 10 2012 19:35 graan wrote: the fifa elo is purly based on the last opponents you played, its biased - look at uruguay.
Sure your right the ranking given from a guy whom the op quoted is arguable - placing portugal two levels over denmark is imo realy wrong, you even placed first in the qualifiers over them, denmark is totaly underrated which should be a realy good thing for you, would be very glad if you advanced with germany in group b, then even semi seems possible against group a teams ( im not realy that impressed with russia, good play vs very bad opponent )
You're right. Group A seems to have an average skill level that is just subpar. I really like the danish coach. He's usually so honest and non-hyping, but he actually said, that if Denmark advanced from Grp B, we would basicly win the tournament -.-
Do we know who we'll play if we advance? Are the grp-seeding-thingies known? (Like A1 v B2, A2 v B1, C1 v D2, C2 v D1 or something) ?
On June 10 2012 19:35 graan wrote: the fifa elo is purly based on the last opponents you played, its biased - look at uruguay.
Sure your right the ranking given from a guy whom the op quoted is arguable - placing portugal two levels over denmark is imo realy wrong, you even placed first in the qualifiers over them, denmark is totaly underrated which should be a realy good thing for you, would be very glad if you advanced with germany in group b, then even semi seems possible against group a teams ( im not realy that impressed with russia, good play vs very bad opponent )
You're right. Group A seems to have an average skill level that is just subpar. I really like the danish coach. He's usually so honest and non-hyping, but he actually said, that if Denmark advanced from Grp B, we would basicly win the tournament -.-
Do we know who we'll play if we advance? Are the grp-seeding-thingies known? (Like A1 v B2, A2 v B1, C1 v D2, C2 v D1 or something) ?
yeah thats the way its going down, winner of group b dodges winner of c in the semis.
Exactly, Group B winner is "most likely" to play vs Poland/Czech/Greece while Group B runner up would face Russia. Winning Group B would also mean you cannot face Spain until the finals, assuming Spain wins their group, too.
On June 10 2012 19:35 graan wrote: the fifa elo is purly based on the last opponents you played, its biased - look at uruguay.
Sure your right the ranking given from a guy whom the op quoted is arguable - placing portugal two levels over denmark is imo realy wrong, you even placed first in the qualifiers over them, denmark is totaly underrated which should be a realy good thing for you, would be very glad if you advanced with germany in group b, then even semi seems possible against group a teams ( im not realy that impressed with russia, good play vs very bad opponent )
You're right. Group A seems to have an average skill level that is just subpar. I really like the danish coach. He's usually so honest and non-hyping, but he actually said, that if Denmark advanced from Grp B, we would basicly win the tournament -.-
Do we know who we'll play if we advance? Are the grp-seeding-thingies known? (Like A1 v B2, A2 v B1, C1 v D2, C2 v D1 or something) ?
yeah thats the way its going down, winner of group b dodges winner of c in the semis.
Just going from the "dont-count-out-anybody" to the opposite camp... Shouldn't we pretty much expect the winner of B in the finals against the winner of C
On June 10 2012 17:03 HwangjaeTerran wrote: In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
Thank god you aren't a referee -_- The dutch didn't play well (especially Robben) but at least one of the two clear handballs should have been a penalty.. -_-
On June 10 2012 17:03 HwangjaeTerran wrote: In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
"If a player's arm is in an unnatural position, for example outstretched or above their head, then a foul should be awarded whether accidental or not."
On June 10 2012 17:03 HwangjaeTerran wrote: In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
Thank god you aren't a referee -_- The dutch didn't play well (especially Robben) but at least one of the two clear handballs should have been a penalty.. -_-
The second one was a pretty clear penalty. Though given how Netherlands played they probably would have missed it.
For all those who carefully follow Euro 2012, or like me, You live very close to euro arenas and have been listening to it for last 10+ days + Show Spoiler [Exact time link] +
haha a bit of prep for tomorrows game. We are going to get beat but at least I will be hyped. This was an advert for the 2010 world cup.Sick advert even if it is a bit OTT
An england song football. The crosses of St George line at the start gets me.
England's squad is actually somewhat decent. I think their main problem is all that there's big media drama/scandal before the tournament even starts... and the team does not play as a cohesive team the way other european big guns do. They are capable of beating france, too many people writing them off!
On June 11 2012 08:22 Vin{MBL} wrote: England's squad is actually somewhat decent. I think their main problem is all that there's big media drama/scandal before the tournament even starts... and the team does not play as a cohesive team the way other european big guns do. They are capable of beating france, too many people writing them off!
EDIT: And also that team talk advert is fantastic
Yeah there's barely any media shit this year at all because most believe we won't do very well. Around major championship you usually see england flags everywhere but this year I haven't seen a single one. Yes we don't mesh well at all, too many similar players and a lack of flair/technique.
The only true England song*, as sung by Fat Les, the father of both Lily Allen and Theon Greyjoy.
*Well, Three Lions still gets a bit of an emotional reaction. but nothing compares to 60,000 singing this one. Embrace, take fucking note that a football song needs to be simple, easy and fun.
The only true England song*, as sung by Fat Les, the father of both Lily Allen and Theon Greyjoy.
*Well, Three Lions still gets a bit of an emotional reaction. but nothing compares to 60,000 singing this one. Embrace, take fucking note that a football song needs to be simple, easy and fun.
Couldn't agree more. Three Lions is a decent song but Vindaloo is a fucking anthem when our fans get going.
That Carlsberg advert gives me goosebumbs every time. So pumped up for tomorrows game! As Delia Smith would say....lets be 'avin you! Come on!!
Haha, nice memories. I also remember that in that same time period, maybe a little later, there was a song about football at a world/euro championship which was more rap/rock themed but with a relaxed vibe to it - the video featured football being played somewhere underground. Might have been partially German? I've tried to find it many a time, but with no luck. Rings a bell with anyone?
Question to my german fellows: Is the ZDF-Stream really THIS bad?! Not only (for me at least) the quality sucks hard and it's lagging hardcore! Totally opposite to the ARD-Stream.
If this has already been discussed here, sorry and just ignore me. I just haven't had the time yet to read through all 37 sites (not even first one >.<)
On June 12 2012 02:12 RedW4rr10r wrote: Question to my german fellows: Is the ZDF-Stream really THIS bad?! Not only (for me at least) the quality sucks hard and it's lagging hardcore! Totally opposite to the ARD-Stream.
If this has already been discussed here, sorry and just ignore me. I just haven't had the time yet to read through all 37 sites (not even first one >.<)
Thanks!
Same for me here. I got no TV and the ARD stream was really good except for 2 lags/90 mins. ZDF-Stream just sucks, I switched to Zattoo, lesser quality and more than a minute behind the normal TV, but it's not laggy at all.
On June 12 2012 02:12 RedW4rr10r wrote: Question to my german fellows: Is the ZDF-Stream really THIS bad?! Not only (for me at least) the quality sucks hard and it's lagging hardcore! Totally opposite to the ARD-Stream.
If this has already been discussed here, sorry and just ignore me. I just haven't had the time yet to read through all 37 sites (not even first one >.<)
Thanks!
Same for me here. I got no TV and the ARD stream was really good except for 2 lags/90 mins. ZDF-Stream just sucks, I switched to Zattoo, lesser quality and more than a minute behind the normal TV, but it's not laggy at all.
Lesser quality than ZDF stream? How is that even possible ^^ But not being laggy is totally worth watching another stream. Thanks for response! So I'm not the only one
Swedish defenders have to learn to cover the short post, germany although blessed with enormous talent played 90's revival football (cheers Berti), spain needs a striker (and don't come up with Torres PLZ) while the netherlands have enough of them but like torres hit everything BUT the goal and englands performance would put any mason in awe (Greetings to Chelsea *facepalm*). Honestly only the old crocks team of russia (which probably inspired Shevchenko) and italy's performance impressed me and it's hard for me to even speak of the latter Did i miss something? Ah yes, CR7 changed his hairstyle during halftime break. Disappointing first round, can only get better (hopefully) ...
On June 12 2012 05:55 sharkie wrote: In my opinion all teams except Ireland still have decent chances to advance out of their groups.
Sweden might be on the way out as well. With the lost vs Ukraine, they got 2 games with England and France left, since these 2 draw in the first round they would fight their heart out for 3 points. I don't see Sweden compete with France, may be they can get 1 point of England, but this not good enough.
On June 12 2012 05:55 sharkie wrote: In my opinion all teams except Ireland still have decent chances to advance out of their groups.
Sweden might be on the way out as well. With the lost vs Ukraine, they got 2 games with England and Spain left, since these 2 draw in the first round they would fight their heart out for 3 points. I don't see Sweden compete with Spain, may be they can get 1 point of England, but this not good enough.
you mean France, not Spain. Sweden traditionally doesn't lose against England in tournaments, so they might still have a chance.
Out of all the games so far the one I enjoyed the most was Sweden vs. Ukraine. Who would have guessed?
I hope a lot of the games were just teams being overly defensive and careful not to screw up hardcore in the first game of the tournament. With that over, many teams will now play to win (instead of playing not to lose) so I'm optimistic that there will be much more exciting games.
I don't understand how Russia can work. It's like straight out of 60´s : one guy runs with the ball while the rest walk. Still I'm hoping they make it, just for the sheer absurdity of them winning teams that run their butts off.
On June 10 2012 17:03 HwangjaeTerran wrote: In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
"If a player's arm is in an unnatural position, for example outstretched or above their head, then a foul should be awarded whether accidental or not."
On June 10 2012 17:03 HwangjaeTerran wrote: In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
"If a player's arm is in an unnatural position, for example outstretched or above their head, then a foul should be awarded whether accidental or not."
So according to that, neither were penalties.
Outstretched? o_O
I can't remember exactly but IIRC at least the second one was a clear one
On June 10 2012 17:03 HwangjaeTerran wrote: In the end I'm quite happy there was a referee making the calls and not the Dutch. I'm not sure if he catched those two handballs that were actually handballs but I wouldn't have awarded a penalty for those anyway. The second one was played in his hand and Poulsen's didn't really matter so it would've made everyone sad. Now if there had been a Dutch player closer than 20m to him it should've been a penalty.
There are people in this thread saying the Oranje played well?? - no, they could've won if RvP or Robben were performing their best but still it would've been a bad performance from the team as a whole.
"If a player's arm is in an unnatural position, for example outstretched or above their head, then a foul should be awarded whether accidental or not."
So according to that, neither were penalties.
Uhm, both were outstretched? At least the second one, his arm was stretched to the right. Or do they mean outstretched as in 'reaching'? But that's never accidental... But nevermind now. Guess I'm just salty since my toto said 1-1 . I just hope Portugal wins tomorrow (never thought i'd say something like that).
This is so awesome. ESPN is covering all the games live here in the US. Along with WC qualifiers for CONCACAF, there is a lot of soccer on TV these days :-). They need more regular coverage like this in the states
On June 13 2012 06:50 BluePanther wrote: This is so awesome. ESPN is covering all the games live here in the US. Along with WC qualifiers for CONCACAF, there is a lot of soccer on TV these days :-). They need more regular coverage like this in the states
Having every game On Demand on espn3 is amazing, that's one thing I love about ESPN coverage of football, you can see everything without waking up at 5am and/or missing work.
Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
On June 12 2012 02:12 RedW4rr10r wrote: Question to my german fellows: Is the ZDF-Stream really THIS bad?! Not only (for me at least) the quality sucks hard and it's lagging hardcore! Totally opposite to the ARD-Stream.
If this has already been discussed here, sorry and just ignore me. I just haven't had the time yet to read through all 37 sites (not even first one >.<)
Thanks!
To those who still might refuse to watch the ZDF-Stream: I have had no problems yet watching their stream. Perfect quality and no lag at all!
Hey all. Just wanted to say that I think this EC has been fantastic so far. We have gotten plenty of goals and lots of fairly entertaining matches. Its crazy that at this point we still havnt had a 0-0 draw and that no teams have qualified for the next round just yet.
On June 14 2012 00:28 lefix wrote: Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
They should get better cameras in the stadiums and start fining the hooligans instead. Sadly most hooligans don't rely care that much about their country / team as long as they get to fight. But it's certainly good that they are starting to give high penalties for hooliganism.
By the way it's quite expected that there would be at least some hoolihanism in Poland and Ukraine and especially when it's poland vs Russia you can't expect anything but trouble with heir history. The uefa and FIFA have to take more care in which countries they take for their tournaments and how they will solve these rivalries.
Actually, that was their punishment for the game vs czech republic. there was a video on youtube showing a group of hoolings kicking the shit out of a steward inside the stadium. i don't think there have been any punishments for the russia - poland match, yet
If Netherlands beats Portugal - and Germany beats Denmark we'll have: Germany 3-0 Denmark 1-2 Netherlands 1-2 Portugal 1-2
And in case Denmark wins and Portugal wins, we'll have Germany 2-1 Denmark 2-1 Portugal 2-1 Netherlands 0-3
In case both games draw Germany 2-1-0 Denmark 1-1-1 Portugal 1-1-1 Netherlands 0-1-0
This can easilly become a threeway tie. Or at least a tiebreaker for 2nd place. Is it the winner of the game between the tiebreakers? Is it scored goals? Goal difference (I don't know if that's the english term, but you get my point) I'm afraid Denmark can't use the goals today if we tiebreak against Portugal. Or am I missing something?
On June 14 2012 08:15 Mentalizor wrote: Can anyone explain what happens in a tiebreak?
If Netherlands beats Portugal - and Germany beats Denmark we'll have: Germany 3-0 Denmark 1-2 Netherlands 1-2 Portugal 1-2
And in case Denmark wins and Portugal wins, we'll have Germany 2-1 Denmark 2-1 Portugal 2-1 Netherlands 0-3
In case both games draw Germany 2-1-0 Denmark 1-1-1 Portugal 1-1-1 Netherlands 0-1-0
This can easilly become a threeway tie. Or at least a tiebreaker for 2nd place. Is it the winner of the game between the tiebreakers? Is it scored goals? Goal difference (I don't know if that's the english term, but you get my point) I'm afraid Denmark can't use the goals today if we tiebreak against Portugal. Or am I missing something?
On June 14 2012 00:28 lefix wrote: Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
Would have been better to ban russian "fans" and let the team play. It's a good team after all and now there is almost no way they'll qualify (ok, maybe there is an ok chance, depends on the group they get).
But something needed to be done. No one wants that hooliganism bullshit. And wtf was that "fan march" all about? It was held only to stir trouble.
Ok, with a win against russia in the last game we pass no matter what. But even though we look stronger than I thought we didn't beat neither poland nor czech, so how are we gonna win the russians, lol.
On June 14 2012 00:28 lefix wrote: Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
In 2006 Denmark played against Sweden.
Sweden got ahead 3-0 Denmark managed to equalize 3-3.
A few minutes before the final whistle a danish player commits a penalty and gets a red card. However a fan was so mad (and drunk) he rushed onto the field to attack the referee. Two danish players saved him and the referee was unharmed. However he chose to simply say "Nope, this can't happen in a professional game. Sweden wins 3-0".
It was so stupid. They'd probably scored on the penalty and won 4-3, which would have been an amazing result. But ONE fan had to blow it for the entire nation. So yeah, I think a bunch of russian fans who perform violence should be punished. It's stupid how fans can harm their team, but I guess it's the only way UEFA can act to help preventing these incedents
On June 14 2012 00:28 lefix wrote: Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
I think this is the wrong way to react. If anything, I think it would have been better to simply restrict official ticket sales to Russian fans for the next Euro rather than penalize the team. Obviously they'd be available through other means, but at least it sends a message to the fans that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. Besides, what control does the team have over its fans other than requesting them to behave nicely?
I understand why the penalty has to be enforced, I just don't agree with the way in which it's being implemented.
yeah you can tell he enjoys surprising the ball boy's from behind
As I heard, this scene was recorded before and was thrown in as the match was running, so it looked like it was being live (or happened just a few moments before). The german broadcaster ZDF complaint about it, afaik.
On June 14 2012 00:28 lefix wrote: Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
I think this is the wrong way to react. If anything, I think it would have been better to simply restrict official ticket sales to Russian fans for the next Euro rather than penalize the team. Obviously they'd be available through other means, but at least it sends a message to the fans that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. Besides, what control does the team have over its fans other than requesting them to behave nicely?
I understand why the penalty has to be enforced, I just don't agree with the way in which it's being implemented.
I wonder, if these people are worth being called "fans"...
On June 14 2012 00:28 lefix wrote: Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
I think this is the wrong way to react. If anything, I think it would have been better to simply restrict official ticket sales to Russian fans for the next Euro rather than penalize the team. Obviously they'd be available through other means, but at least it sends a message to the fans that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. Besides, what control does the team have over its fans other than requesting them to behave nicely?
I understand why the penalty has to be enforced, I just don't agree with the way in which it's being implemented.
Its pretty straightforward. Your behavior will hurt your team. It will be your fault stop doing it. If nothing else that should deter people the most. Not getting tickets isnt very high up when it comes to dampening the motivation to do something stupid.
This issue of drawing on purpose doesn't even come up here. Denmark needs to win. They only have 3 points. Also, if Denmark and Portugal both win, there are 3 teams with 6 points and Germany might be eliminated. Both matches are played at the same time. Now if they know the Netherlands leads with 4 goals in the second half and they are still tied, they will probably keep it tied.
But if you go into a match with the attitude to not win, that's bad for the growing into the tournament. Germany needs to develop momentum. They are pretty likely to go on. So their main concern is to get more confidence and trust and grow as a team. They aren't going in there worried about facing the Dutch in the finals. And they shouldn't be either.
V Marwijk is an idiot btw. Only coach in the world that would have fielded this team in the first place, then hang on to it even after it is too late to change. He has an iron grip on what players say before the camera. None of them dare to show the dissatisfaction most of them have. But on the field they flat out ignore vMarwijk and all play their own game, worried about making their own mistakes and plays.
The team is completely split in half. They play without a midfield. It's like the defending like and the attacking line are in a huge disagreement with each other and they refuse to help each other out of spite, blowing up a team that already was disfunctional (remember their bad play at the WC? Well you should. The team functioned worse on the WC yet some individual players exceled and carried the team).
If vMarwijk didn't have to bring 23 players he would just have come with 16 because he is never going to use the 17th guy, ever. He wasted two slots on older players who aren't able to play even if it was needed (Bouma and Boulahrouz). These guys are like player-assistent coaches or something. And he brought several talents he doesn't trust to play, ever.
Here's my view on the Group of Death situation. It's actually quite hard to predict who's going to qualify.
- If Portugal and Denmark both WIN, then it will be a matter of who scored more goals in their respective matches - If Portugal and Denmark both LOSE, then it will be a matter of who lost the least amount of goals. However, if Netherlands manages to thrash Portugal (unlikely) then the dutch can qualify!
- If Portugal loses and Denmark wins, then Denmark will qualify, vice versa if Portugal won and Denmark lost.
IMO, Portugal does have the highest chance of qualifying, unless Denmark made an under-the-table deal with Germany (lol)
Sadly Holland don't deserve to go through on the basis of their play so far. The team is completely falling apart and obviously hate playing vMarwijk's system, and none of them seem to even like each other or want to play together, the sole exception being Sneijder - he's been trying and you can really see that. Sadly Robben hasn't been doing much except his special move of cut inside, shoot and sky it, then look around angrily because obviously it's everyone else's fault.
I wanted Holland to go far because I like more of their players but now I'm hoping Denmark will be there. They've played hard and aren't scared of the 'bigger' teams. I just wish the commentators would recognise that they really do have quality in the side and stop talking about what an amazing surprise it is that they can defend/string together passes/score goals.
On June 16 2012 09:23 alderamin wrote: This issue of drawing on purpose doesn't even come up here. Denmark needs to win. They only have 3 points. Also, if Denmark and Portugal both win, there are 3 teams with 6 points and Germany might be eliminated. Both matches are played at the same time. Now if they know the Netherlands leads with 4 goals in the second half and they are still tied, they will probably keep it tied.
But if you go into a match with the attitude to not win, that's bad for the growing into the tournament. Germany needs to develop momentum. They are pretty likely to go on. So their main concern is to get more confidence and trust and grow as a team. They aren't going in there worried about facing the Dutch in the finals. And they shouldn't be either.
V Marwijk is an idiot btw. Only coach in the world that would have fielded this team in the first place, then hang on to it even after it is too late to change. He has an iron grip on what players say before the camera. None of them dare to show the dissatisfaction most of them have. But on the field they flat out ignore vMarwijk and all play their own game, worried about making their own mistakes and plays.
The team is completely split in half. They play without a midfield. It's like the defending like and the attacking line are in a huge disagreement with each other and they refuse to help each other out of spite, blowing up a team that already was disfunctional (remember their bad play at the WC? Well you should. The team functioned worse on the WC yet some individual players exceled and carried the team).
If vMarwijk didn't have to bring 23 players he would just have come with 16 because he is never going to use the 17th guy, ever. He wasted two slots on older players who aren't able to play even if it was needed (Bouma and Boulahrouz). These guys are like player-assistent coaches or something. And he brought several talents he doesn't trust to play, ever.
Just think about a kid like Willems going to have to play vs Nani...
vdWiel will probably have an ok time, he likes attacking the flanks and Chrissy doesn't ever defend.
He proposed Stekelenburg as GK, defensive mids Mathijsen/Heitinga, with Bouhlarouz at left back and vdWiel at right back. Both vBommel+De Jong out, and replaced by Strootman (personally I think that could be de Jong too, but hey). Kuyt as right forward, Robben as left forward. On the midfield Sneijder and vPersie, with Huntelaar as deep striker.
The whole idea would be to spam assists for Huntelaar, which also gives Sneijder and RvP the room they need to excel. RvP doesn't work that great as the guy on the penalty dot, Huntelaar does. Also note that pretty much all of the goals against Portugal were headers. Huntelaar has way better head capabilities than RvP.
On June 14 2012 08:15 Mentalizor wrote: Can anyone explain what happens in a tiebreak?
If Netherlands beats Portugal - and Germany beats Denmark we'll have: Germany 3-0 Denmark 1-2 Netherlands 1-2 Portugal 1-2
And in case Denmark wins and Portugal wins, we'll have Germany 2-1 Denmark 2-1 Portugal 2-1 Netherlands 0-3
In case both games draw Germany 2-1-0 Denmark 1-1-1 Portugal 1-1-1 Netherlands 0-1-0
This can easilly become a threeway tie. Or at least a tiebreaker for 2nd place. Is it the winner of the game between the tiebreakers? Is it scored goals? Goal difference (I don't know if that's the english term, but you get my point) I'm afraid Denmark can't use the goals today if we tiebreak against Portugal. Or am I missing something?
Here are all the tiebreak scenarios: For case 1 above, three teams at 3 points: If Netherlands beats Portugal by 2 goals or more, Netherlands gets the spot (they will have best GD in games among the 3). If Netherlands beats Portugal by 1 goal, Portugal gets the spot (they will have the most goals scored in games among the 3). Denmark can't get the spot if they lose.
For case 2, three teams at 6 points: If Denmark beats Germany by 2 goals or more, order is 1. Denmark, 2. Portugal (by GD in games among 3) If Denmark beats Germany 1-0, order is 1. Portugal 2. Denmark (by Goals scored in games among 3, then Portugal head to head over Den.) If Denmark beats Germany 2-1, order is 1. Denmark 2. Portugal (by goals scored in games among the 3) If Denmark beats Germany 3-2 or higher 1 goal win, order is 1. Denmark 2. Germany (by goals scored in games among the 3, then Germany over Port. head to head)
For case 3, Portugal and Denmark tied at 4 points, Portugal gets the spot by winning head to head.
If Germany and Portugal tie at 6, order is 1. Germany 2. Portugal If Germany and Denmark tie at 6, order is 1. Denmark 2. Germany.
What each team needs to advance: Netherlands: Win by 2+ goals and Germany beats Denmark
Denmark: Win, or draw and Netherlands beats Portugal
Portugal: Win as long as Denmark doesn't beat Germany by 3-2 or higher 1 goal margin, Draw and Denmark draw or loss, or lose by 1 and Germany beats Denmark
Germany: Win, Draw, lose 3-2 or higher 1 goal margin, or any loss if Portugal doesn't win
And last night I just watched the 2 worst teams qualify from Group A. Crazy lol.
Czech: I really cannot rate the Czech Rep atm since they just don't look anywhere near as good as they have in the recent past and they didn't look all that great in qualifying vs crap like us (Scotland).
Greece: Well god knows how they managed it, I've only seen highlights from the Russia v Greece game (was watching the Poland v Czech one) and it looks like Russia had more chances. Typical defend for your lives Greece I guess, I half expect to see them in full Hoplite gear in phalanx formation around their goal in the QF :D
Poland and Russia: Well Russia self explanatory, amazing against Czech and they drew with the hosts. That's usually enough to put you through. I really think they kinda expected it was all over though and maybe didn't play as well as they could have? As for Poland, I actually think they did really well. The first game turned scrappy in the 2nd half but players like Błaszczykowski, Lewandowski, Piszczek and more they actually looked the part for at least the QF.
Shocked to say the least. A very poor Greece (imo) and a very average looking Czech Republic just got through against the 2 most exciting (imo) teams in Group A.
On June 14 2012 00:28 lefix wrote: Because of the misbehaviour of the russian fans, Russia has been fined 120.000€ and got a 6 point penalty in the next euro qualifiers, on probation. That's some strict ruling, imho. But with to the probation, this might be a good way to shut up the hooligans. What do you think?
In 2006 Denmark played against Sweden.
Sweden got ahead 3-0 Denmark managed to equalize 3-3.
A few minutes before the final whistle a danish player commits a penalty and gets a red card. However a fan was so mad (and drunk) he rushed onto the field to attack the referee. Two danish players saved him and the referee was unharmed. However he chose to simply say "Nope, this can't happen in a professional game. Sweden wins 3-0".
It was so stupid. They'd probably scored on the penalty and won 4-3, which would have been an amazing result. But ONE fan had to blow it for the entire nation. So yeah, I think a bunch of russian fans who perform violence should be punished. It's stupid how fans can harm their team, but I guess it's the only way UEFA can act to help preventing these incedents
Edit - Yep I was wrong, they kept the 0-3. Wow. Years ago when Scotland turned up in Talinn in Estonia to play vs Estonia and the home side didn't turn up AT ALL, Scotland were awarded a 3-0 win but then Estonia appealed and I think the rematch was 0-0 lol. Very strange tbh. One nutter fan ruins it for their nation, very sad.
On June 17 2012 18:12 Mallidon wrote: Well Russia self explanatory, amazing against Czech and they drew with the hosts. That's usually enough to put you through. I really think they kinda expected it was all over though and maybe didn't play as well as they could have?
That's just classic Russia: Getting everyone excited at the start of the tournament, but running out of steam later on.
On June 14 2012 08:15 Mentalizor wrote: Can anyone explain what happens in a tiebreak?
If Netherlands beats Portugal - and Germany beats Denmark we'll have: Germany 3-0 Denmark 1-2 Netherlands 1-2 Portugal 1-2
And in case Denmark wins and Portugal wins, we'll have Germany 2-1 Denmark 2-1 Portugal 2-1 Netherlands 0-3
In case both games draw Germany 2-1-0 Denmark 1-1-1 Portugal 1-1-1 Netherlands 0-1-0
This can easilly become a threeway tie. Or at least a tiebreaker for 2nd place. Is it the winner of the game between the tiebreakers? Is it scored goals? Goal difference (I don't know if that's the english term, but you get my point) I'm afraid Denmark can't use the goals today if we tiebreak against Portugal. Or am I missing something?
Here are all the tiebreak scenarios: For case 1 above, three teams at 3 points: If Netherlands beats Portugal by 2 goals or more, Netherlands gets the spot (they will have best GD in games among the 3). If Netherlands beats Portugal by 1 goal, Portugal gets the spot (they will have the most goals scored in games among the 3). Denmark can't get the spot if they lose.
For case 2, three teams at 6 points: If Denmark beats Germany by 2 goals or more, order is 1. Denmark, 2. Portugal (by GD in games among 3) If Denmark beats Germany 1-0, order is 1. Portugal 2. Denmark (by Goals scored in games among 3, then Portugal head to head over Den.) If Denmark beats Germany 2-1, order is 1. Denmark 2. Portugal (by goals scored in games among the 3) If Denmark beats Germany 3-2 or higher 1 goal win, order is 1. Denmark 2. Germany (by goals scored in games among the 3, then Germany over Port. head to head)
For case 3, Portugal and Denmark tied at 4 points, Portugal gets the spot by winning head to head.
If Germany and Portugal tie at 6, order is 1. Germany 2. Portugal If Germany and Denmark tie at 6, order is 1. Denmark 2. Germany.
What each team needs to advance: Netherlands: Win by 2+ goals and Germany beats Denmark
Denmark: Win, or draw and Netherlands beats Portugal
Portugal: Win as long as Denmark doesn't beat Germany by 3-2 or higher 1 goal margin, Draw and Denmark draw or loss, or lose by 1 and Germany beats Denmark
Germany: Win, Draw, lose 3-2 or higher 1 goal margin, or any loss if Portugal doesn't win
Thanks a ton This actually explained all the scenarios Turns out it wasn't relevant, but still thanks for the nice explanation
wow, how did netherlands fail so spectacularly(not getting a SINGLE POINT) with such a stacked team? I think it might have been because at times it seemed like the dutch were playing 6-0-4, because van vommel and de jong couldn't connect with sneijder and the wingers. idk, i might have tried to play sneider in the deep lying playmaker position and not #10 so that the deffense will connect with offense better. then play rvp in a second striker/AMC position with huntelaar on top.
You are exactly right. But because they played that way at the WC as well, 6-0-4 (they in fact did and it didn't look pretty), they stuck to that system.
The system you propose is what most people in the Netherlands wanted and that's why the pressure on the team was so big. But apparently players didn't want to play that way. VPersie and Sneijder both want the free role. And apparently the same with Robben. Sneijder as a deep midfielder would have to do a lot of defending. He just doesn't want to do that. And VPersie would have to have to defend the controlling midfielder of the opposing team and he is used to being a striker.
I would support such a system. But it was never practiced and key players opposed it.
Many key players also don't like Huntelaar. He has a different personality than most football stars and he isn't a complete player and he lacks skill in obvious areas compared to Sneijder and vPersie. And apparently Huntelaar also was a pain in the ass because he wasn't playing. Some players wanted him to leave.
I have always supported Sneijder as a more deep playing midfielder. He doesn't come into the box. That's not his thing. He never tries to come up real close to the striker. He is best in the counter giving a perfect pass over relatively long distance.
People here are now starting to deny how stacked they are and claim Portugal's lesser player are much better than ours. I don't believe this is really true. I believe this was both a tactical and a teamspirit failure. Now which one caused the other I don't know, but they are connected. Really like France 2 years ago.
On June 19 2012 11:09 alderamin wrote: You are exactly right. But because they played that way at the WC as well, 6-0-4 (they in fact did and it didn't look pretty), they stuck to that system.
The system you propose is what most people in the Netherlands wanted and that's why the pressure on the team was so big. But apparently players didn't want to play that way. VPersie and Sneijder both want the free role. And apparently the same with Robben. Sneijder as a deep midfielder would have to do a lot of defending. He just doesn't want to do that. And VPersie would have to have to defend the controlling midfielder of the opposing team and he is used to being a striker.
I would support such a system. But it was never practiced and key players opposed it.
Many key players also don't like Huntelaar. He has a different personality than most football stars and he isn't a complete player and he lacks skill in obvious areas compared to Sneijder and vPersie. And apparently Huntelaar also was a pain in the ass because he wasn't playing. Some players wanted him to leave.
I have always supported Sneijder as a more deep playing midfielder. He doesn't come into the box. That's not his thing. He never tries to come up real close to the striker. He is best in the counter giving a perfect pass over relatively long distance.
People here are now starting to deny how stacked they are and claim Portugal's lesser player are much better than ours. I don't believe this is really true. I believe this was both a tactical and a teamspirit failure. Now which one caused the other I don't know, but they are connected. Really like France 2 years ago.
Yeah, I actually think the run that Netherlands had at 2010 might have been bad for the future of dutch football. they had a great run, and almost beat spain, but really, the only noteworthy team they beat was brazil. and that brazil team was pretty bad compared to other brazil teams, and brazil got that red card. Against spain, they literally mugged the spanish players. I thought there should have been some red cards.
if the manager knew this, then he should have implemented a different system. screw what the players want, this isn't club football where you can get a transfer, stamp your authority and play the formation you think is right. and i don't think sneijder would have had to track back much, when de jong can just play the midfield destroyer role.
but yeah, i totally agree, this team had as much talent as any team in the world, and portugal only have ronaldo. nani's decent, but not world class, and there is el loco pepe.
one thing though, how did the dutch manage to score so many goals in qualifying and look so dominant, but fail so horribly in the tournament? was it the same formation and system?
On June 19 2012 11:38 Tazza wrote: one thing though, how did the dutch manage to score so many goals in qualifying and look so dominant, but fail so horribly in the tournament? was it the same formation and system?
Strength of opponents. San Marino, Finland, Moldova, Hungary are not Germany Portugal Denmark.
On June 19 2012 11:09 alderamin wrote: You are exactly right. But because they played that way at the WC as well, 6-0-4 (they in fact did and it didn't look pretty), they stuck to that system.
The system you propose is what most people in the Netherlands wanted and that's why the pressure on the team was so big. But apparently players didn't want to play that way. VPersie and Sneijder both want the free role. And apparently the same with Robben. Sneijder as a deep midfielder would have to do a lot of defending. He just doesn't want to do that. And VPersie would have to have to defend the controlling midfielder of the opposing team and he is used to being a striker.
I would support such a system. But it was never practiced and key players opposed it.
Many key players also don't like Huntelaar. He has a different personality than most football stars and he isn't a complete player and he lacks skill in obvious areas compared to Sneijder and vPersie. And apparently Huntelaar also was a pain in the ass because he wasn't playing. Some players wanted him to leave.
I have always supported Sneijder as a more deep playing midfielder. He doesn't come into the box. That's not his thing. He never tries to come up real close to the striker. He is best in the counter giving a perfect pass over relatively long distance.
People here are now starting to deny how stacked they are and claim Portugal's lesser player are much better than ours. I don't believe this is really true. I believe this was both a tactical and a teamspirit failure. Now which one caused the other I don't know, but they are connected. Really like France 2 years ago.
I would compare NL's euro 2012 to France 2008 rather. Both teams were trying to keep momentum after a successful world cup, but ended up in the group of death, against teams you cannot beat if you're not at 100%. France 2008 problems were also a mix of tactical/ego ones, with malouda/ribery only willing to play left-wing, anelka/henry as striker and so on, which made it really hard to perform as a team
Trust me, when you'll have a tourney as horrendous as France had in 2010 you'll know
On June 19 2012 11:09 alderamin wrote: You are exactly right. But because they played that way at the WC as well, 6-0-4 (they in fact did and it didn't look pretty), they stuck to that system.
The system you propose is what most people in the Netherlands wanted and that's why the pressure on the team was so big. But apparently players didn't want to play that way. VPersie and Sneijder both want the free role. And apparently the same with Robben. Sneijder as a deep midfielder would have to do a lot of defending. He just doesn't want to do that. And VPersie would have to have to defend the controlling midfielder of the opposing team and he is used to being a striker.
I would support such a system. But it was never practiced and key players opposed it.
Many key players also don't like Huntelaar. He has a different personality than most football stars and he isn't a complete player and he lacks skill in obvious areas compared to Sneijder and vPersie. And apparently Huntelaar also was a pain in the ass because he wasn't playing. Some players wanted him to leave.
I have always supported Sneijder as a more deep playing midfielder. He doesn't come into the box. That's not his thing. He never tries to come up real close to the striker. He is best in the counter giving a perfect pass over relatively long distance.
People here are now starting to deny how stacked they are and claim Portugal's lesser player are much better than ours. I don't believe this is really true. I believe this was both a tactical and a teamspirit failure. Now which one caused the other I don't know, but they are connected. Really like France 2 years ago.
Yeah, I actually think the run that Netherlands had at 2010 might have been bad for the future of dutch football. they had a great run, and almost beat spain, but really, the only noteworthy team they beat was brazil. and that brazil team was pretty bad compared to other brazil teams, and brazil got that red card. Against spain, they literally mugged the spanish players. I thought there should have been some red cards.
if the manager knew this, then he should have implemented a different system. screw what the players want, this isn't club football where you can get a transfer, stamp your authority and play the formation you think is right. and i don't think sneijder would have had to track back much, when de jong can just play the midfield destroyer role.
but yeah, i totally agree, this team had as much talent as any team in the world, and portugal only have ronaldo. nani's decent, but not world class, and there is el loco pepe.
one thing though, how did the dutch manage to score so many goals in qualifying and look so dominant, but fail so horribly in the tournament? was it the same formation and system?
You must have no clue of football if you think Brazil 2010 was a bad team. Dunga was a brilliant tactician, their 4-3-1-2 were completely bossing midfields and set the pace for years.
He was a brilliant man and imo sacking him is one of the most horrible decisions Brazil has ever made.
On June 19 2012 11:09 alderamin wrote: You are exactly right. But because they played that way at the WC as well, 6-0-4 (they in fact did and it didn't look pretty), they stuck to that system.
The system you propose is what most people in the Netherlands wanted and that's why the pressure on the team was so big. But apparently players didn't want to play that way. VPersie and Sneijder both want the free role. And apparently the same with Robben. Sneijder as a deep midfielder would have to do a lot of defending. He just doesn't want to do that. And VPersie would have to have to defend the controlling midfielder of the opposing team and he is used to being a striker.
I would support such a system. But it was never practiced and key players opposed it.
Many key players also don't like Huntelaar. He has a different personality than most football stars and he isn't a complete player and he lacks skill in obvious areas compared to Sneijder and vPersie. And apparently Huntelaar also was a pain in the ass because he wasn't playing. Some players wanted him to leave.
I have always supported Sneijder as a more deep playing midfielder. He doesn't come into the box. That's not his thing. He never tries to come up real close to the striker. He is best in the counter giving a perfect pass over relatively long distance.
People here are now starting to deny how stacked they are and claim Portugal's lesser player are much better than ours. I don't believe this is really true. I believe this was both a tactical and a teamspirit failure. Now which one caused the other I don't know, but they are connected. Really like France 2 years ago.
Yeah, I actually think the run that Netherlands had at 2010 might have been bad for the future of dutch football. they had a great run, and almost beat spain, but really, the only noteworthy team they beat was brazil. and that brazil team was pretty bad compared to other brazil teams, and brazil got that red card. Against spain, they literally mugged the spanish players. I thought there should have been some red cards.
if the manager knew this, then he should have implemented a different system. screw what the players want, this isn't club football where you can get a transfer, stamp your authority and play the formation you think is right. and i don't think sneijder would have had to track back much, when de jong can just play the midfield destroyer role.
but yeah, i totally agree, this team had as much talent as any team in the world, and portugal only have ronaldo. nani's decent, but not world class, and there is el loco pepe.
one thing though, how did the dutch manage to score so many goals in qualifying and look so dominant, but fail so horribly in the tournament? was it the same formation and system?
You must have no clue of football if you think Brazil 2010 was a bad team. Dunga was a brilliant tactician, their 4-3-1-2 were completely bossing midfields and set the pace for years.
He was a brilliant man and imo sacking him is one of the most horrible decisions Brazil has ever made.
I never said they were a bad team. I just said it wasn't as good as some of the brazil teams of the past. and i think the dutch were sort of lucky in the match. I felt like the dutch didn't really beat them, but the brazil team just imploded. brazil was dominating in that first half, but then they just...
oh and that really close 2-1 win over north korea.
On June 19 2012 11:09 alderamin wrote: You are exactly right. But because they played that way at the WC as well, 6-0-4 (they in fact did and it didn't look pretty), they stuck to that system.
The system you propose is what most people in the Netherlands wanted and that's why the pressure on the team was so big. But apparently players didn't want to play that way. VPersie and Sneijder both want the free role. And apparently the same with Robben. Sneijder as a deep midfielder would have to do a lot of defending. He just doesn't want to do that. And VPersie would have to have to defend the controlling midfielder of the opposing team and he is used to being a striker.
I would support such a system. But it was never practiced and key players opposed it.
Many key players also don't like Huntelaar. He has a different personality than most football stars and he isn't a complete player and he lacks skill in obvious areas compared to Sneijder and vPersie. And apparently Huntelaar also was a pain in the ass because he wasn't playing. Some players wanted him to leave.
I have always supported Sneijder as a more deep playing midfielder. He doesn't come into the box. That's not his thing. He never tries to come up real close to the striker. He is best in the counter giving a perfect pass over relatively long distance.
People here are now starting to deny how stacked they are and claim Portugal's lesser player are much better than ours. I don't believe this is really true. I believe this was both a tactical and a teamspirit failure. Now which one caused the other I don't know, but they are connected. Really like France 2 years ago.
Yeah, I actually think the run that Netherlands had at 2010 might have been bad for the future of dutch football. they had a great run, and almost beat spain, but really, the only noteworthy team they beat was brazil. and that brazil team was pretty bad compared to other brazil teams, and brazil got that red card. Against spain, they literally mugged the spanish players. I thought there should have been some red cards.
if the manager knew this, then he should have implemented a different system. screw what the players want, this isn't club football where you can get a transfer, stamp your authority and play the formation you think is right. and i don't think sneijder would have had to track back much, when de jong can just play the midfield destroyer role.
but yeah, i totally agree, this team had as much talent as any team in the world, and portugal only have ronaldo. nani's decent, but not world class, and there is el loco pepe.
one thing though, how did the dutch manage to score so many goals in qualifying and look so dominant, but fail so horribly in the tournament? was it the same formation and system?
You must have no clue of football if you think Brazil 2010 was a bad team. Dunga was a brilliant tactician, their 4-3-1-2 were completely bossing midfields and set the pace for years.
He was a brilliant man and imo sacking him is one of the most horrible decisions Brazil has ever made.
I never said they were a bad team. I just said it wasn't as good as some of the brazil teams of the past. and i think the dutch were sort of lucky in the match. I felt like the dutch didn't really beat them, but the brazil team just imploded. brazil was dominating in that first half, but then they just...
oh and that really close 2-1 win over north korea.
Brazil was a good team but not that good.. Their star was kaka who hadn't even played a lot at Real cuz of injuries. A bit like Sneijder I guess.
And how can you call Dunga a brilliant tactician... He puts Alves on the mid -.-
He is right, they were a bad team. They had no star players except a returning from injury, out of form Kaka. Melo, Elano, etc come on. Is that Brasil? And yes they also played bad tactically. Very defensive a bit like the Netherlands themselves play. No modern football that attack and defend as one unit and cover the entire field well positonally.
Also agree the Dutch didn't beat Brasil and Brasil beat itself.
but yeah, i totally agree, this team had as much talent as any team in the world, and portugal only have ronaldo. nani's decent, but not world class, and there is el loco pepe.
Ahem. I would argue that the entire back four of Portugal is better than the Dutch, player-by-player. Then in the midfield we have Moutinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Meireles, a group that is at least on par with Van der Vaart-Robben-Van Persie-Sneijder.
I don't see where the Dutch talent advantage was expect in the striker, which is rather useless in a game where your striker hits his first shot in the last 15 minutes of the game, or whatever it was.
On June 20 2012 16:51 Surrealistic wrote: Dudes it's winner 1 vs winner 3, winner 2 vs winner 4. I think they do this to avoid a double match in final from groups.
1. POR < CZE 2. SPA < FRA 3. GRE > GER 4. ITA < ENG
CZE < GRE FRA < ENG
GRE > ENG
English expectations crushed. Consolation for John Terry as he will still lift the trophy.
no, the winner of Germany - Greece will play against the Winner of Italy - England
but yeah, i totally agree, this team had as much talent as any team in the world, and portugal only have ronaldo. nani's decent, but not world class, and there is el loco pepe.
Ahem. I would argue that the entire back four of Portugal is better than the Dutch, player-by-player. Then in the midfield we have Moutinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Meireles, a group that is at least on par with Van der Vaart-Robben-Van Persie-Sneijder.
I don't see where the Dutch talent advantage was expect in the striker, which is rather useless in a game where your striker hits his first shot in the last 15 minutes of the game, or whatever it was.
Yeah, Van Persie and Huntelaar played worse than Postiga did
On June 20 2012 06:00 Holgerius wrote: Getting really pumped for Italy vs England (english football fans are probably the ones I've had the most disputes with :D).
Italy haven't looked all that good, but you can simply NEVER count them out once they've reached the knock-out stages.
Italy looked better than England imo, it will be an interesting game.
The German fans fear Italy much more than England, that's for sure.
On June 20 2012 06:00 Holgerius wrote: Getting really pumped for Italy vs England (english football fans are probably the ones I've had the most disputes with :D).
Italy haven't looked all that good, but you can simply NEVER count them out once they've reached the knock-out stages.
Italy looked better than England imo, it will be an interesting game.
The German fans fear Italy much more than England, that's for sure.
They may fear Italy more, but they certainly fear losing against England more. (English media ftw^^)
On June 20 2012 06:00 Holgerius wrote: Getting really pumped for Italy vs England (english football fans are probably the ones I've had the most disputes with :D).
Italy haven't looked all that good, but you can simply NEVER count them out once they've reached the knock-out stages.
Italy looked better than England imo, it will be an interesting game.
The German fans fear Italy much more than England, that's for sure.
Oh yeah, im scared as hell of italy.. all my hopes lie on england, which will be an amazing rematch from the wc - if italy gets past england i think they will win the hole thing. tbh italy has the best chance against spain anyway.
But the drawing is so good, 3 amazing matches ( greece vs ger with all the background, i read on spox even merkel will show up - thats going to be so intense oh my god, im pumped ! ), only portugal vs czech without rosicky looks not that interesting on paper - but it makes me very happy every time cech has to get the ball out of the net.
Man, when was the last time England and Italy met in either WC or Euro? Interesting and rare match up. Only rarer matchup between European powers that I can think of is Italy vs Portugal.
On June 20 2012 06:00 Holgerius wrote: Getting really pumped for Italy vs England (english football fans are probably the ones I've had the most disputes with :D).
Italy haven't looked all that good, but you can simply NEVER count them out once they've reached the knock-out stages.
Italy looked better than England imo, it will be an interesting game.
The German fans fear Italy much more than England, that's for sure.
They may fear Italy more, but they certainly fear losing against England more. (English media ftw^^)
Haha so true about our media! They still cling on to our 5-1 victory which was in 2001! Embarrassing.
On June 23 2012 05:33 [DUF]MethodMan wrote: so just something pretty much unrelated to the game itself. i noticed how the atmosphere at this tournament so far has been really bad, even compared to south africa, where you could only hear vuvuzelas, but at least you heard sth. this cups games for the most part have been real quiet. even today, where i can imagine there being tons of german fans, since gdansk is relatively close to germany. only after the 4-1 people started constantly singing, its sth im not used to, because its pretty much mandatory to sing all the time, or just make any kind of noise, to support your own team, most importantly when theyre playing bad or falling behind. anybody else feeling the same, or is it just me?
quoted from the germany vs greece lr thread, since probably nobody read it there
On June 23 2012 05:33 [DUF]MethodMan wrote: so just something pretty much unrelated to the game itself. i noticed how the atmosphere at this tournament so far has been really bad, even compared to south africa, where you could only hear vuvuzelas, but at least you heard sth. this cups games for the most part have been real quiet. even today, where i can imagine there being tons of german fans, since gdansk is relatively close to germany. only after the 4-1 people started constantly singing, its sth im not used to, because its pretty much mandatory to sing all the time, or just make any kind of noise, to support your own team, most importantly when theyre playing bad or falling behind. anybody else feeling the same, or is it just me?
quoted from the germany vs greece lr thread, since probably nobody read it there
I really don't want to generalize this, but imo Germans have always been kind of poor fans. It's just something I have noticed in the Bayern CL matches. Especially if they were behind...
On June 23 2012 05:33 [DUF]MethodMan wrote: so just something pretty much unrelated to the game itself. i noticed how the atmosphere at this tournament so far has been really bad, even compared to south africa, where you could only hear vuvuzelas, but at least you heard sth. this cups games for the most part have been real quiet. even today, where i can imagine there being tons of german fans, since gdansk is relatively close to germany. only after the 4-1 people started constantly singing, its sth im not used to, because its pretty much mandatory to sing all the time, or just make any kind of noise, to support your own team, most importantly when theyre playing bad or falling behind. anybody else feeling the same, or is it just me?
quoted from the germany vs greece lr thread, since probably nobody read it there
I really don't want to generalize this, but imo Germans have always been kind of poor fans. It's just something I have noticed in the Bayern CL matches. Especially if they were behind...
On June 23 2012 05:33 [DUF]MethodMan wrote: so just something pretty much unrelated to the game itself. i noticed how the atmosphere at this tournament so far has been really bad, even compared to south africa, where you could only hear vuvuzelas, but at least you heard sth. this cups games for the most part have been real quiet. even today, where i can imagine there being tons of german fans, since gdansk is relatively close to germany. only after the 4-1 people started constantly singing, its sth im not used to, because its pretty much mandatory to sing all the time, or just make any kind of noise, to support your own team, most importantly when theyre playing bad or falling behind. anybody else feeling the same, or is it just me?
quoted from the germany vs greece lr thread, since probably nobody read it there
I really don't want to generalize this, but imo Germans have always been kind of poor fans. It's just something I have noticed in the Bayern CL matches. Especially if they were behind...
good thing you don't want do generalize bc its utter bs.
On June 23 2012 05:33 [DUF]MethodMan wrote: so just something pretty much unrelated to the game itself. i noticed how the atmosphere at this tournament so far has been really bad, even compared to south africa, where you could only hear vuvuzelas, but at least you heard sth. this cups games for the most part have been real quiet. even today, where i can imagine there being tons of german fans, since gdansk is relatively close to germany. only after the 4-1 people started constantly singing, its sth im not used to, because its pretty much mandatory to sing all the time, or just make any kind of noise, to support your own team, most importantly when theyre playing bad or falling behind. anybody else feeling the same, or is it just me?
quoted from the germany vs greece lr thread, since probably nobody read it there
Pretty sure everyone read it, didnt think it credited any response, but if its so important to you, I dont know about todays game but generally the atmosphere has been fantastic.
I'd rather hear nothing than Vuvuzelas personally. That aside
I think the noise in some games has been off the charts. Ireland being the foremost example And theres always been some kind of singing going on. Maybe not for 90 mins but the noise has been there. At times crowds have gone relatively quiet but I think the atmosphere from what one can judge from television has been very good.
The only ones who can actually make a reasonable estimate are the people who have actually gone to the stadiums.
Germany-Portugal was kind of poor in terms of atmosphere. You did not hear a single sound from the Portugal side and the German side was kinda quiet too until the goal.
Ukraine-Sweden was amazing. Ukraine is not a football country at all so pretty much all they sing is U-KRA-INA. But it was sooooo loud and the entire stadium of 66k all in yellow was great.
Germany-Netherlands was unusual. Almost zero support form the Netherland side which is really unusual I think. The only time you ever heard them was just after the 1-2. German side was awesome, 90 minutes non stop support.
And that was all in Ukraine I am 100% sure in Poland everything is way way better as they are actually excited about the EURO.
On June 23 2012 05:33 [DUF]MethodMan wrote: so just something pretty much unrelated to the game itself. i noticed how the atmosphere at this tournament so far has been really bad, even compared to south africa, where you could only hear vuvuzelas, but at least you heard sth. this cups games for the most part have been real quiet. even today, where i can imagine there being tons of german fans, since gdansk is relatively close to germany. only after the 4-1 people started constantly singing, its sth im not used to, because its pretty much mandatory to sing all the time, or just make any kind of noise, to support your own team, most importantly when theyre playing bad or falling behind. anybody else feeling the same, or is it just me?
quoted from the germany vs greece lr thread, since probably nobody read it there
I really don't want to generalize this, but imo Germans have always been kind of poor fans. It's just something I have noticed in the Bayern CL matches. Especially if they were behind...
On June 23 2012 05:33 [DUF]MethodMan wrote: so just something pretty much unrelated to the game itself. i noticed how the atmosphere at this tournament so far has been really bad, even compared to south africa, where you could only hear vuvuzelas, but at least you heard sth. this cups games for the most part have been real quiet. even today, where i can imagine there being tons of german fans, since gdansk is relatively close to germany. only after the 4-1 people started constantly singing, its sth im not used to, because its pretty much mandatory to sing all the time, or just make any kind of noise, to support your own team, most importantly when theyre playing bad or falling behind. anybody else feeling the same, or is it just me?
quoted from the germany vs greece lr thread, since probably nobody read it there
I really don't want to generalize this, but imo Germans have always been kind of poor fans. It's just something I have noticed in the Bayern CL matches. Especially if they were behind...
Bayern fans are a special type of German fans.
yes bayern fans are the coolest.
They aren't even the coolest football fans in Munich. Unless you consider a fanbase consisting of 90% plastic bandwagon fans and glory hunters cool. :p
On June 24 2012 17:50 mcimba42 wrote: also portugal is literally the farthest from both ukraine and poland, we have like 5 thousand people in each match at most
and portuguese people only cheer when they are ahead, when they're losing they just sit down and complain about the referee
Eh wouldn't be good to generalize all of the nation's fans like that. It's a kind of mentality a lot of bandwagoners have, and they exist in every nation or team. I wouldn't marginalize the support that Portuguese fans have for their team :/
On June 24 2012 17:50 mcimba42 wrote: also portugal is literally the farthest from both ukraine and poland, we have like 5 thousand people in each match at most
and portuguese people only cheer when they are ahead, when they're losing they just sit down and complain about the referee
Eh wouldn't be good to generalize all of the nation's fans like that. It's a kind of mentality a lot of bandwagoners have, and they exist in every nation or team. I wouldn't marginalize the support that Portuguese fans have for their team :/
They don't exist in Ireland if you saw their match when they were behind different nation different mentality, very different mentalities in europe.
I just love how having an anthem without lyrics can win you the the people from the place to hum for you at times. Spanish anthem always is the loudest even if there is nothing to sing xD
On June 25 2012 08:14 KalWarkov wrote: whoever says german fans are bad didnt follow the world championship 2006. most likely because he was too little to understand whats going at yet.
Germany - Italy Portugal - Spain
very interesting matches. Germany vs Spain finals are very likely, with Spain having a slight edge.
Indeed! The atmosphere all over in Germany was just astounding! Also, the fans in today's match ENG - ITA were having fun big time! It was so noisy, lol
I feel like of the four nations in the semis, Portugal has the least chance, but I still hope they somehow advance. Spain is darn good though D:
Cristiano Ronaldo an Casillas playing against each other (obv lots of other players playing against each other of course) will feel weird, I'm so used to watching Real Madrid play, haven't caught too many country-based tournaments.
On June 25 2012 08:14 KalWarkov wrote: whoever says german fans are bad didnt follow the world championship 2006. most likely because he was too little to understand whats going at yet.
Germany - Italy Portugal - Spain
very interesting matches. Germany vs Spain finals are very likely, with Spain having a slight edge.
I don't think it's that likely tbh I would say Germany vs Italy is 60%-40% in favor of Germany. Italy's defense is looking so damn solid and Pirlo can find a hole in every defense they just need a striker who scores instead of Balotelli...
Spain - Portugal is in favor of Spain obv. but Portugal does have a chance. Spain usually plays with their defense on the half of the field so if Portugal manages to send Ronaldo in that space with his speed I can easily see them score. I don't think Spain showed how good they really are though I think they've only been playing on 80% so I would give them the edge in this game with 80% chance to win :D.
Four big names in the semis, this is great for marketing value!
... besides that, of course, we're going to be enjoying some amazing football (oh ho ho I didn't say soccer) and I'm definitely looking forward to both semi-final matches.
On June 25 2012 08:14 KalWarkov wrote: whoever says german fans are bad didnt follow the world championship 2006. most likely because he was too little to understand whats going at yet.
Germany - Italy Portugal - Spain
very interesting matches. Germany vs Spain finals are very likely, with Spain having a slight edge.
I don't think it's that likely tbh I would say Germany vs Italy is 60%-40% in favor of Germany. Italy's defense is looking so damn solid and Pirlo can find a hole in every defense they just need a striker who scores instead of Balotelli...
Spain - Portugal is in favor of Spain obv. but Portugal does have a chance. Spain usually plays with their defense on the half of the field so if Portugal manages to send Ronaldo in that space with his speed I can easily see them score. I don't think Spain showed how good they really are though I think they've only been playing on 80% so I would give them the edge in this game with 80% chance to win :D.
60-40, rofl... Get your shit straight dude, Italy did win the game last night, but that was on penalties, and against England, a team that has not impressed at all as of late. I predict Germany to win the game, and its not cause Im dutch and dutch people have a secrect crush on germans, no, their team is clearly the better one.
As for you RvB, well I guess you just have to study more football, xD
On June 25 2012 08:14 KalWarkov wrote: whoever says german fans are bad didnt follow the world championship 2006. most likely because he was too little to understand whats going at yet.
Germany - Italy Portugal - Spain
very interesting matches. Germany vs Spain finals are very likely, with Spain having a slight edge.
I don't think it's that likely tbh I would say Germany vs Italy is 60%-40% in favor of Germany. Italy's defense is looking so damn solid and Pirlo can find a hole in every defense they just need a striker who scores instead of Balotelli...
Spain - Portugal is in favor of Spain obv. but Portugal does have a chance. Spain usually plays with their defense on the half of the field so if Portugal manages to send Ronaldo in that space with his speed I can easily see them score. I don't think Spain showed how good they really are though I think they've only been playing on 80% so I would give them the edge in this game with 80% chance to win :D.
60-40, rofl... Get your shit straight dude, Italy did win the game last night, but that was on penalties, and against England, a team that has not impressed at all as of late. I predict Germany to win the game, and its not cause Im dutch and dutch people have a secrect crush on germans, no, their team is clearly the better one.
As for you RvB, well I guess you just have to study more football, xD
I think that assesment for the Italy Germany game was pretty reasonable, I dont like putting a number on it but theres no reason Italy cant give Germany a game and a very good one at that.
Why does he need to get his "shit" together when hes making the same prediction as you are? I think its you who need to get his "shit together", making a half assed assessment and telling people they dont know anything, especially when you come in and say the same thing. Or would you wager that Germany is 100 percent a confirmed winner and we shud just give them a bye ?
I think Italy were very impressive, England were a tough not to crack and Italy wasnt lucky. On another day they put away their chances. On yet another one maybe England even sneaks in a goal and defends it to the end. Thats just the game.
Germany while the best team at the tournament and pretty clear favourite is no infallible juggernaut. They can be beat and Italy while not the better team to me has certainly showed enough football to be able to beat them on their day.
On June 25 2012 08:14 KalWarkov wrote: whoever says german fans are bad didnt follow the world championship 2006. most likely because he was too little to understand whats going at yet.
Germany - Italy Portugal - Spain
very interesting matches. Germany vs Spain finals are very likely, with Spain having a slight edge.
I don't think it's that likely tbh I would say Germany vs Italy is 60%-40% in favor of Germany. Italy's defense is looking so damn solid and Pirlo can find a hole in every defense they just need a striker who scores instead of Balotelli...
Spain - Portugal is in favor of Spain obv. but Portugal does have a chance. Spain usually plays with their defense on the half of the field so if Portugal manages to send Ronaldo in that space with his speed I can easily see them score. I don't think Spain showed how good they really are though I think they've only been playing on 80% so I would give them the edge in this game with 80% chance to win :D.
60-40, rofl... Get your shit straight dude, Italy did win the game last night, but that was on penalties, and against England, a team that has not impressed at all as of late. I predict Germany to win the game, and its not cause Im dutch and dutch people have a secrect crush on germans, no, their team is clearly the better one.
As for you RvB, well I guess you just have to study more football, xD
I think that assesment for the Italy Germany game was pretty reasonable, I dont like putting a number on it but theres no reason Italy cant give Germany a game and a very good one at that.
Why does he need to get his "shit" together when hes making the same prediction as you are? I think its you who need to get his "shit together", making a half assed assessment and telling people they dont know anything, especially when you come in and say the same thing. Or would you wager that Germany is 100 percent a confirmed winner and we shud just give them a bye ?
I think Italy were very impressive, England were a tough not to crack and Italy wasnt lucky. On another day they put away their chances. On yet another one maybe England even sneaks in a goal and defends it to the end. Thats just the game.
Germany while the best team at the tournament and pretty clear favourite is no infallible juggernaut. They can be beat and Italy while not the better team to me has certainly showed enough football to be able to beat them on their day.
Now Rebs, my pakistanian friend, forgive me for making "a half assed assessment and telling people they dont know anything". Not that im quite sure of what it means, but considering it involves the term "ass" alot i asume it is something I "would do". (no pun intented). Back OT: Yes, Italy played good, but I think that it was more of a trick, a shadow on the wall. You see football is a curious thing. When the other team (England) only defends, then ofc it will look like Italy is much better. But that doesnt mean that they (Italy) per se played good football, and it certainly doesnt mean that they have much of a chance against a team such as Germany.
We scored twice versus germany with 3 chances and the italian offense(even with balotelli lol) is infinite times better than ours. If they make half the chances they made vs england I don't think germany will be able to keep their sheet clean. I think italy has a slight advantage cause pirlo.
On June 25 2012 08:14 KalWarkov wrote: whoever says german fans are bad didnt follow the world championship 2006. most likely because he was too little to understand whats going at yet.
Germany - Italy Portugal - Spain
very interesting matches. Germany vs Spain finals are very likely, with Spain having a slight edge.
I don't think it's that likely tbh I would say Germany vs Italy is 60%-40% in favor of Germany. Italy's defense is looking so damn solid and Pirlo can find a hole in every defense they just need a striker who scores instead of Balotelli...
Spain - Portugal is in favor of Spain obv. but Portugal does have a chance. Spain usually plays with their defense on the half of the field so if Portugal manages to send Ronaldo in that space with his speed I can easily see them score. I don't think Spain showed how good they really are though I think they've only been playing on 80% so I would give them the edge in this game with 80% chance to win :D.
60-40, rofl... Get your shit straight dude, Italy did win the game last night, but that was on penalties, and against England, a team that has not impressed at all as of late. I predict Germany to win the game, and its not cause Im dutch and dutch people have a secrect crush on germans, no, their team is clearly the better one.
As for you RvB, well I guess you just have to study more football, xD
I think that assesment for the Italy Germany game was pretty reasonable, I dont like putting a number on it but theres no reason Italy cant give Germany a game and a very good one at that.
Why does he need to get his "shit" together when hes making the same prediction as you are? I think its you who need to get his "shit together", making a half assed assessment and telling people they dont know anything, especially when you come in and say the same thing. Or would you wager that Germany is 100 percent a confirmed winner and we shud just give them a bye ?
I think Italy were very impressive, England were a tough not to crack and Italy wasnt lucky. On another day they put away their chances. On yet another one maybe England even sneaks in a goal and defends it to the end. Thats just the game.
Germany while the best team at the tournament and pretty clear favourite is no infallible juggernaut. They can be beat and Italy while not the better team to me has certainly showed enough football to be able to beat them on their day.
Now Rebs, my pakistanian friend, forgive me for making "a half assed assessment and telling people they dont know anything". Not that im quite sure of what it means, but considering it involves the term "ass" alot i asume it is something I "would do". (no pun intented). Back OT: Yes, Italy played good, but I think that it was more of a trick, a shadow on the wall. You see football is a curious thing. When the other team (England) only defends, then ofc it will look like Italy is much better. But that doesnt mean that they (Italy) per se played good football, and it certainly doesnt mean that they have much of a chance against a team such as Germany.
yea Italy was totally demolished by Spain right? they couldn't do anything have you even watched any games besides the ones Germany played in?
On June 25 2012 08:14 KalWarkov wrote: whoever says german fans are bad didnt follow the world championship 2006. most likely because he was too little to understand whats going at yet.
Germany - Italy Portugal - Spain
very interesting matches. Germany vs Spain finals are very likely, with Spain having a slight edge.
I don't think it's that likely tbh I would say Germany vs Italy is 60%-40% in favor of Germany. Italy's defense is looking so damn solid and Pirlo can find a hole in every defense they just need a striker who scores instead of Balotelli...
Spain - Portugal is in favor of Spain obv. but Portugal does have a chance. Spain usually plays with their defense on the half of the field so if Portugal manages to send Ronaldo in that space with his speed I can easily see them score. I don't think Spain showed how good they really are though I think they've only been playing on 80% so I would give them the edge in this game with 80% chance to win :D.
60-40, rofl... Get your shit straight dude, Italy did win the game last night, but that was on penalties, and against England, a team that has not impressed at all as of late. I predict Germany to win the game, and its not cause Im dutch and dutch people have a secrect crush on germans, no, their team is clearly the better one.
As for you RvB, well I guess you just have to study more football, xD
I think that assesment for the Italy Germany game was pretty reasonable, I dont like putting a number on it but theres no reason Italy cant give Germany a game and a very good one at that.
Why does he need to get his "shit" together when hes making the same prediction as you are? I think its you who need to get his "shit together", making a half assed assessment and telling people they dont know anything, especially when you come in and say the same thing. Or would you wager that Germany is 100 percent a confirmed winner and we shud just give them a bye ?
I think Italy were very impressive, England were a tough not to crack and Italy wasnt lucky. On another day they put away their chances. On yet another one maybe England even sneaks in a goal and defends it to the end. Thats just the game.
Germany while the best team at the tournament and pretty clear favourite is no infallible juggernaut. They can be beat and Italy while not the better team to me has certainly showed enough football to be able to beat them on their day.
Now Rebs, my pakistanian friend, forgive me for making "a half assed assessment and telling people they dont know anything". Not that im quite sure of what it means, but considering it involves the term "ass" alot i asume it is something I "would do". (no pun intented). Back OT: Yes, Italy played good, but I think that it was more of a trick, a shadow on the wall. You see football is a curious thing. When the other team (England) only defends, then ofc it will look like Italy is much better. But that doesnt mean that they (Italy) per se played good football, and it certainly doesnt mean that they have much of a chance against a team such as Germany.
yea Italy was totally demolished by Spain right? they couldn't do anything have you even watched any games besides the ones Germany played in?
Germany is favoured against Italy. Spain is favoured against Portugal. It's the semi finals & all teams look strong. So every team is able to take the tournament.
On June 26 2012 06:21 Steveling wrote: We scored twice versus germany with 3 chances and the italian offense(even with balotelli lol) is infinite times better than ours. If they make half the chances they made vs england I don't think germany will be able to keep their sheet clean. I think italy has a slight advantage cause pirlo.
Germany will play different against Italy compared to against your country. i.e. Schweinsteiger alone was our defense against your 3 midfielders (Khedira, Özil, etc all offense). He managed that most of the time fine, but we're not stupid enough to let Schweinsteiger play solo vs Pirlo & friends.
On June 26 2012 06:21 Steveling wrote: We scored twice versus germany with 3 chances and the italian offense(even with balotelli lol) is infinite times better than ours. If they make half the chances they made vs england I don't think germany will be able to keep their sheet clean. I think italy has a slight advantage cause pirlo.
England let Pirlo have free reign for whatever reason, I very much doubt the German team will make the same mistake. He is a good player and will probably still create chances, but I very much doubt that he can dominate the game like against England when taken care of properly. That said Italy is a high-quality team with good tactical discipline. I believe they have a decent chance against any team in the world, and they showed that against Spain.
On June 29 2012 22:37 TranceStorm wrote: Pedro Proenca has been selected to referee the finals. A good year for him, he also was the referee in the Champions League Final.
Wait I thought refs from countries that progressed to semifinals were ineligible for semis and the final? Same as Worlc Cup and quarterfinals.
On June 29 2012 23:59 gruff wrote: What is the purpose of the rule of giving players yellow cards for pulling off their shirts? Seems a bit silly.
It's for delaying the match. But yeah, it's a bit silly.
I was told it was because of advertising on shirts, the most exposure they get is when a player scores. Don't know if thats the reason but for delaying the match seems mad.
Yeah I do think it's advertising - because the cameras all zoom in and focus on the scorer, all the pictures in match reports are of the scorer etc. I've also heard that it's also because the arabic countries are offended by nudity and since it's broadcasted in that region, the lucrative money etc. Certainly advertising hasn't got anything to do with the international game.
Pulling off shirts is completely banned, just to avoid controversy about giving yellow cards - some players could advertise there, some players could also pull some political stuff etc. etc.
well it's like this, sure lately it's been about advertisement but you have to know that before advertisement and before the ban players who scored would take off their shirt and throw it to the fans now getting a new shirt delays the match since I'm not sure they keep a stock of shirts near the bench, and there's this thing that you need to have proper equipment to be allowed to play which also includes a team shirt
Uefa president Michel Platini says the 2020 European Championship could be spread across various cities in Europe, rather than having a single host.
I had big hopes for Platini when he got the job. Now, I think he's just another Blatter, or possibly even worse.
That would at least have the positive side effect of fixing the retarded seeding system. Giving the host nation(s) the highest seed no matter how bad they are creates a mess - just like the groups this Euro.
I'm going with Spain as my first pick. They just have everything required to win and such a settled squad.
Dark horses being France and Italy (France either do really crap or get to a final and Italy usually pull off good results when they are least expected).
I can see teams like Portugal and England going out in the QF, Germany probably most likely to be SF. I suppose a lot depends on the draw after the group stages and who wins groups and who is RU though.
My predictions from the other thread, not too shabby. I half expected Portugal to lose to someone daft in the QF, that didn't happen so oh well. When they got there, I actually had a bet on for Ronaldo to score the winner against the Czech (Who were lucky as hell to get to the QF's IMO).
France went out to the eventual winners, I wouldn't say they would be too upset with a QF since half the time they go out in the group stages. Don't think I did too bad with those predictions overall xD
The Final: I wasn't shocked Spain won, was a little shocked about the scoreline. I guess Italy just ran out of steam and ran up against one of the best teams ever.
I am pleased that Torres scored. He's taken a lot of shit, and it's quite deserved in many ways since he aint been finding the net a lot in the last year and a half. If he was lacking confidence (I don't think he ever really was. He was always confident enough to try long shots and was always getting into his usual space), this will no doubt give it back to him.
On July 02 2012 12:03 Mallidon wrote: My predictions from the other thread, not too shabby. I half expected Portugal to lose to someone daft in the QF, that didn't happen so oh well. When they got there, I actually had a bet on for Ronaldo to score the winner against the Czech (Who were lucky as hell to get to the QF's IMO).
I don't think Czechs were lucky to get to QF. They might have been lucky to win the group (which I'm sure nobody saw coming), but had Rosicky not been injured in Greece game, I'm sure Czech would have beaten Greece and Poland more comfortably.
On July 02 2012 12:03 Mallidon wrote: My predictions from the other thread, not too shabby. I half expected Portugal to lose to someone daft in the QF, that didn't happen so oh well. When they got there, I actually had a bet on for Ronaldo to score the winner against the Czech (Who were lucky as hell to get to the QF's IMO).
I don't think Czechs were lucky to get to QF. They might have been lucky to win the group (which I'm sure nobody saw coming), but had Rosicky not been injured in Greece game, I'm sure Czech would have beaten Greece and Poland more comfortably.
IMO it was one of the poorest Czech teams I've seen for ages. I think they rode their luck very well to get as far as they did. This is a team that struggled to qualify for the tournament let alone anything else, and didn't look anywhere near good enough.
Yea they were the worst Czech team I've ever seen, and had they landed in any group other than A, they would have been eliminated for sure, so in that sense, they were very lucky. QF was as far as they could go and their 2 shots 0 on target against Portugal verifies that. But Greece and Poland weren't better than Czech Republic. It took the entire 1st half for Greece to wake up in both Poland and Czech Republic games, and they were lucky to not be behind 3-0 by half time in both games.
Uefa president Michel Platini says the 2020 European Championship could be spread across various cities in Europe, rather than having a single host.
I had big hopes for Platini when he got the job. Now, I think he's just another Blatter, or possibly even worse.
That would at least have the positive side effect of fixing the retarded seeding system. Giving the host nation(s) the highest seed no matter how bad they are creates a mess - just like the groups this Euro.
seeding system wont matter too much anyway now with 24 teams in the next Euro
Uefa president Michel Platini says the 2020 European Championship could be spread across various cities in Europe, rather than having a single host.
I had big hopes for Platini when he got the job. Now, I think he's just another Blatter, or possibly even worse.
That would at least have the positive side effect of fixing the retarded seeding system. Giving the host nation(s) the highest seed no matter how bad they are creates a mess - just like the groups this Euro.
seeding system wont matter too much anyway now with 24 teams in the next Euro
Yay, chance to see Finland in euro 2016 perhaps ;o
On July 02 2012 23:55 don_kyuhote wrote: Yea they were the worst Czech team I've ever seen, and had they landed in any group other than A, they would have been eliminated for sure, so in that sense, they were very lucky. QF was as far as they could go and their 2 shots 0 on target against Portugal verifies that. But Greece and Poland weren't better than Czech Republic. It took the entire 1st half for Greece to wake up in both Poland and Czech Republic games, and they were lucky to not be behind 3-0 by half time in both games.
I'd have much rather see Poland go through, I think they showed some good sparks but yeah overall they were not quite there yet.
If Russia hadn't imploded, they also looked a lot better than the Czech side too. Even in the last game that I saw only bits of, they seemed to have more chances than the Greek Phalanx but just didn't take them.
Anyway, enough of my Czech hating lol... Not that I hate them ofc, just think they were the worst of the last 8
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/N2vmG.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/GpaZH.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Oc0d5.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/hk0DV.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Nh9rY.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/kBlWS.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QRs5D.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/acqW5.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/r7TS3.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/HgglH.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/iMmMp.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Q9YfY.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/oRDXS.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ERlIH.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/HrVFq.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/7HRF1.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/gWyi9.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/vq61N.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/t9cvC.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100713170016/uncyclopedia/images/f/f8/Nigel_de_Jong_kick_Xabi_Alonso.gif)
![[image loading]](http://i.minus.com/ibynIaUJniQw6l.gif)
![[image loading]](http://i.minus.com/i2b28dyHGfSBW.gif)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/7I8yB.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://s6.tinypic.com/2ailh54.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/onA5D.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/sLx1q.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8VX9m.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://shrani.si/f/B/SG/4oB0gUHw/untitled.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg688/scaled.php?server=688&filename=teamuz.jpg&res=landing)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zZVJu.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/jA6c9.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Xwhdu.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/NuWqh.png)
![[image loading]](http://i47.tinypic.com/2ia788p.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/oFhWm.png)
![[image loading]](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0d2c07iRw1qcqm5r.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ytmmefaB3q4/TTcBA0EPa5I/AAAAAAAAC2c/zZFvU9Zh-q8/s1600/Ashley-Young-Marlo-Stanfield.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://footballsup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Ashley_Young_and_Ja_814717a.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/EvdCy.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/awVbw.jpg?1)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/mv6O6.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LJaGj.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/jDhjn.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/VIePu.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/9pt5R.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/S3cgp.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FcDJ-iV-8k8/T7JZmpLMO3I/AAAAAAAAJvA/Fzp-YTB644E/s1600/erik%2Bhamren%2Bsuecia.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://assets1.ignimgs.com/2007/02/07/300-20070207113309379-1901089.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://cdn2.spiegel.de/images/image-360711-galleryV9-slpv.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20120608/395720.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/556095_10150890238307643_236062010_n.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WPcd9.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8DCAG.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/So8Tq.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/13/article-2158395-13983E5E000005DC-929_634x438.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/XYdu1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://imgnews.naver.net/image/076/2012/06/11/2012061101000747000055251.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://imgnews.naver.net/image/076/2012/06/11/2012061101000746900055241.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://estaticos01.marca.com/imagenes/2012/06/19/futbol/eurocopa_2012/espana/1340129615_extras_portada_0.jpg)
I'm still hoping for a miracle performance from Ronaldo :3
