Best goal Russia’s second goal against Sweden scored by Arshavin created by Zhirkov.
Best free kick goal (possibly the only free kick goal) Michael Ballack’s rocket against Austria.
Players of the Tournament 1. Xavi Hernandez, 2. Marcos Senna, 3. David Silva, (All Spain).
Euro 2008 - the Best of (4-1-4-1) Buffon (Italy); Anyukov (Russia), Puyol (Spain), Chiellini (Italy), Zhirkov (Russia); Senna (Spain); Xavi (Spain), Ballack (Germany), van der Vaart (Netherlands), Silva (Spain); Villa (Spain).
Second Team (4-1-3-2) Casillas (Spain); Corluka (Croatia), Tamos (Romania), Simunic (Croatia), Rat (Romania); Aurelio (Turkey); Sneijder (Netherlands), Deco (Portugal), Poldolski (Germany); Arshavin (Russia), Torres (Spain).
Officiating Group stages – fair to good. Knock out rounds – very good to excellent.
Comments of the Day “For whatever reason, Spain excels at producing pint-sized pass-happy pixies: Xavi, David Silva and Andres Iniesta are all in the same mould, creative little fellas who can pass the ball to death. The problem is, you can only fit so many of them in your team.” – Gabriele Marcotti writing back on the eve of the European Championship.
“But the limiting of his participation has not prevented the Arsenal man (Cesc Fabregas) from confirming that he is not simply the most creative architect of penetration available to his country but conceivably the ultimate practitioner of the art in all of football today. And he is as brave as he is talented, constantly displaying not just the physical version of courage but that rarer form so often lauded by Sir Alex Ferguson, the kind that makes a player eager to embrace responsibility, to think always not of what will make him look good but what will benefit the team. As it happens, Fabregas’s innate style almost invariably causes him to look good whatever he does.” – Hugh McIlvanney.
Predictions
Geniusatwork takes the prediction league with 44 points out of a possible 64 points - congratulations.
Thank you to all that participated and the cast of thousands identified by daFootbllas who were apparently responsible for tabulating the results for me.
Blog wisdom and mirror time Pride of place goes to the following posters for their insight and willingness to critique others choices without posting their own predictions.
OCbabelovesepl – “whoever seriously picked SPAIN to win, is retarded. Spain never pulls through, with or without Fernando Torres. That’s the way it is.”
Bman87 – “How funny, in your predictions Germany always beats the Czechs (by the way Czechs beat Germans twice in last three games) or Portugal and Spain are beating everyone else. Unfortunately these two losers will choke again. The final will be Holand (sic) – Czechs, Any m@ron understand that these two teams are playing the most entertaining football.”
No doubt we can look forward to more insight from these two clowns in four years time.
Next up Draws for the first two qualifying rounds of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League will be held tomorrow, July 1.
Curious choices for a few. Best goal - are you sure it wasn't Sneijder's v. Italy?
Why isn't Schweinsteiger in one of your top two teams? I thought he was actually Germany's best player throughout the tournament. Whenever he got the ball, I truly felt he was a threat every time. I can't say the same for Ballack, or Podolski.
I don't care much for folks who miss out on a season's worth of games, but have such big opinions on international tournaments like Euro and the World Cup.
Best goals, in my humble opinion, need to consider the opposition. Ronaldo scored a nice goal against Derby last season.....quite a few did score good gaols against Derby. My point here is that Sweden hardly set the tournament alight and while I agree that the fluency and finish of the Arshavin goal against Sweden was good on the eye, I like and prefer the dutch goals more because they were scored against France.
The back heel from Van Nistleroy, Robben's run and cross to Van Persie's finish was simply sublime.
Ballack's free kick was a screamer and the best free kick.
Oh well each of us to our own.
1. The best goal was Sneijder's vs France. Granted it was the night cap on a 4-1 route, but it was absolutely perfect...
2. I'd put Sneijder in the first XI over Van Der Vaart
After that... I haven't checked to see if you commented on it yet, so forgive me if you have, but I'll ask now anyway... Do you agree with Platini, that expanding the finals will be a good thing?
Leche,
I too do wonder about 24 to the next finals, as how they will reduce the 24 to 8 evenly remains to be seen if it is 6 groups of 4.
On the other hand 4 groups of 6, with 5 group games as opposed to 3, might be workable as any loss would be less impacting.
Time will tell I guess though I suspect Platini has already got it decided.
One good thing is that England might just make the finals with 24 going!
- Do you agree with me that European refrees are the best in the world? we do not seem to have the same problems we have the the WC when south american refrees are in charge.
- Marco Senna, that is the guy who effectively handed spain the title. he really did protect their defense. But no matter how the likes of Makelele play, they are never thanked for their hard work. I see him leaving for chelsea or inter milan this season.
Im sure this is the wrong place to place a question but hopefully you can give me your opinion anyway. I was wondering what your thoughts are about Ronaldhino, is heal still capable of past glory, and what a move to the Prem might do to get his amazing skills back on track. Love reading your blog keep up the great work
I didn't get to watch all of the games, but for me the best goal was Sneijder against France.
I am glad Spain beat Germany. They had a great tourney -CONGRATS to the team and all of its fans!
I hope that a new coach at Spain can retain their current momentum.
As for Italy, back to the drawing board. Donadoni needs to be replaced. Lippi's return would be welcomed. The problem with most Italian teams is that they rely on a particular player too much. Lippi is great at creating a balanced team. I hope he can create a great team again. I would like to see the next (or current) coach to begin a transition of introducing of a younger Italian team. With Nesta already moved on and Cannavaro likely to follow we will be hurting in the center. I think one of the few positive aspect for the Italians of this tournament was that Chiellini can be a center back.
Bobby, who is your pick for best coach of the EUROs?
THe more I watch Torres' goal, the more impressive it is. What a big time play. He set Lahm up all match to that point, never showing his final burst until that one perfect moment. I still don't know how he got there. Simply amazing. Fernando Torres and Tevez are my favorite players right now.
Although Spain looked like scoring again plenty they never did. Huge goal.
This is the Euro.!!!!!!!!!!!The level of teams with the exception of Austria and Turkey is very high and one slip or a mistake and the whole Tournament is a write off for a Country.
Spain won by the extra super technique they showed and practiced.
Team such Italy,The Czechs,France etc...will rebuild the squads with their young talent in the country and will keep on tracking and winning at the next WC and Euro's again.
Holland was a team that played great enough to win? Didn't work out...
Croatia ,the same...
Portugal played really well as well...
The Czechs didn't play that great,were missing key player[s],however their performance was improving and had they won the game vs. Turkey I saw them making it to Semifinal,but...?
I thought the Final would be Croatia vs. Holland just because of the 44 years of no titles for Spain.
Spain did great except the final partner was a poor excuse for a great team,the Germans.
Can everybody stop chanting and repeating the word Sweinstaiger as if you worship this punk?
The guy doesn't work hard for the team and is in and out of the game,which puts him down to the average players.
The fact that Spain beat a very good and disciplined Germany that makes it nearly a perfect tournament for Spain. If they would have won against Turkey or Croatia it would lose its luster as time passes.
I actually think that Austria have the core of a team that could be a decent squad through the next few tournaments. Their U21 side went to the semi's @ Canada last year and you saw some of that youth come through already. They weren't up the task as these players were mostly forwards and they weren't ready for the responisibility. But they will get better I think. And Garics, Pogatetz, ####hs and Ivanavich had strong showings.
Ringo:
No fair entering the competition more than once! I suppose you cheat at solitaire, too. Secondly, Bobby scored 22 not 18. It appears they gave you 2 bonus points for each qualifier from the group. i.e. If you said Germany/Croatia would be 1/2 in their group, you did not get any points for correct position, but got 2+2=4 bonus points for correctly identifying the two who would qualify out of the group. I'm not sure if that is the scoring system Bobby intended, but this makes more sense since this tournament aptly demonstrated finishing first or second is irrelevant, qualifying is what matters. I know this is how they scored it because your score would have been 38 instead of 44 if it was tallied the way you tallied Bobby's.
I, by the way, scored 24, 2 points better than Bobby which shows how much luck enters into it, since Bobby has more knowledge about football in his left baby toe than I will ever have.
Best Goal:
For me it was Nihat's second against the Czechs because it was not only a remarkable display of technique and composure as he curved the ball into the top corner when a lesser player would have probaly just blasted and hoped, but it was also such a crucial goal. Sneijder scored some pretty goals, but none were particularly important or vital to the result.
Finally, what I love about football is so many countries are so good at it. I could realistically come up with a scenario for 15 of the teams to win this tournament (Austria had no chance). The fact that so many people could make so many predictions and be so wrong is not a sign of idiocy or naivety (right Bobby), but just how close the competition is, and how one intangible moment can change history.
Mannschaft - Sneijder's goal was a beauty as well.
I didn't think that Schweinsteiger was one of the best four wide midfield players in the tournament. I see that some "best Euro teams" don't necessarily pick players who normally play in the picked positions. For example I saw one that had two right backs Boswinga and Ramos both chosen but no left back.
Schweinsteiger dead ball deliveries in the final were very poor.
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on June 30th at 1:13 PM.
Veron and Deco are completely different players, different times, different gaffers, etc.
Deco's a terrific player. Whether he fits into Big Phil's system (whatever that becomes) at Stamford Bridge is another issue.
How he will play in the EPL is another. He's a tough (as that wanker, Andy Gray would say) little
one. Incredibly skillful, fabulous passer and he can defend.
Deco's the least of your worries w/o Lampard in the middle.
Ringo - If your claim is true I am afraid I am going to have to turn the result over to the ethics committee chaired by Jeremy and Derek. Entering under an assumed-assumed name must be illegal.
GS is right I got 22 points.
Anyone who picked the winner was going to pick up a minimum of 20 points and that is what showed in the top 20.
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on June 30th at 1:43 PM.
Ringo, hows summer down there? It's flippin' hot up here right now!
What will big Phil do with so many midfielders do you think? He cannot hold on to them all and Deco is nearer his best before date than most of the rest. Makes me wonder if he needs a Portuguese speaker in the dressing room for a year to help him communicate with John Terry?~~!
Maybe I'm biased towards the dutch, but I thought maybe RVN could be a 2nd team allstar. To be honest, it's been so long since the dutch played that I can't recall it all. However, he should be lauded for his two goals, the way he held the ball up, and for not diving in their first match. Despite not getting a bunch of goals, his play was crucial to the goals the dutch did get (which were a lot until Russia came along).
Best goal: like a few others, I also really liked Snjeiders goal and the RVN-Robben-Van Persie goal
Getting $$ for Adebyor is good for Arsenal? Sure, but how much of that $$ is required just to replace him?
Finally, please I don't want to hear another Arsenal rumour unless it involves them getting a good CB. Surely I'm not the only one that sees this as their biggest weakness.
Redfan4ever - If you are going to use the criteria of goals against countries setting the tournament alight then your choice of France seems a bit odd. Conceded six goals in a group in which no team made it further than the last 8. Sweden 4 goals against vs the winners and a semi finalist. France was to incendiary devices what Robert Mugabe is to fair elections.
Thierry_Henry - I thought the refereeing overall was very good. However, I don't think you can characterize the standard based on where an official resides. There are far too many examples of good referees coming from what we would consider smaller nations.
I've never been a big fan of Makelele. As far as I'm concerned he is a 5th defender who plays just in front of the other four. His attacking contribution consists of 5 yard square passes that has some critics swooning.
Marcos Senna however is a different kettle of fish. More mobile and a better passer of the ball of distance.
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on June 30th at 1:27 PM.
VIC3423 - I would say it really comes down to Ronaldinho getting his own head on straight. At his age he should have two or three good years left at least. If he does not straighten himself out then it does not matter where he goes because the result will be the same as at Barca - probably worse. I don't think a move to the Premiership would be a good move for him as it is probabaly the most unforgiving league out of the top four or five.
CIAO - In some ways the finals and the qualifying rounds were exactly the same for Turkey - inconsistency. You could even see it within games. Take a few minutes away and Turkey could have been home with a single point after three games.
MasMaz - He set up Lahm all match to that point? He scored after 30 minutes. He got there because Lahm chose to try and hold him off instead of making sure that the ball was going to either reach Lehmann or be cleared.
Disciplined is not a word that I would use to describe this edition of the German team. They conceded how many goals?
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on June 30th at 1:40 PM.
Bobby, are national teams that have good U-20 or U-21 teams considered to have a bright future in football?
'Cause if that's the case, people should watch out for Austria, Chile, Czech Republic and Argentina (All those teams were semi-finalists in the U-2O world cup, last year in Canada.)
Bobby, goals against? I was referring to ranking or perceived ranking, of the countries the goals were scored against. I would back France to beat Sweden 10 out of 10 most days based on current squads.
France were seen by most as likely to qualify with Italy out of their group and so for unfancied Netherlands to play and score as they did against the two world cup finalists makes the goals the more remarkable, imho.
As I said it is a matter of opionion but I did not mention goals against, merely the ranking or perceived quality of the opposition. Goals against is a fact of hindsight and our opinions are all the wiser and in many cases different to what they were pre-tournament.
I am looking forward to tonights show and your comments on the 24 if Fox let you the time. Once in place there will be no going back I fancy so if it does not work like the world cup did not then do we go to 32? 32 clubs at the Euro finals would scarcely leave room or need for any qualifiers! What's more the finals will take longer and that would impact on the major European countries' domestic seasons.
Last edited by redfan4ever on June 30th at 2:10 PM.
16 is the perfect tournament size, in my opinion, and, with only 53 nations in UEFA, letting almost half of them attend will unquestionably cheapen the tournament. The worst of all is there will be no going back, name one tournament that has gotten smaller as the years. If the Europeans who missed the tournament are upset, let the top 6 of the rest go and compete in Copa America (where I suspect they will struggle to get out of their respective groups) so that there could be 16 in that tournament, too.
I must confess, I have often thought the World Cup should expand to 40 teams just to let more teams from outside Europe get a chance to compete since I don't see UEFA ever letting go of their 13 slots. A few more African teams would certainly add some pizazz.
Portugal are a good example that u-21 success does not translate into senior team success. The golden children of Portugal could not bring home the gold even if they paid for it....
Bobby. I think it was Torres' 3rd or fourth run up to that point. He had Lahm thinking he was going all out, that is clear. The goal was neither Lahm's nor Lehmann's fault IMO.
I don't know Germany conceded what 8 goals in a very high scoring tournament. They only conceded 1 to Spain and if it goes to extra time things get tricky.
I would say lack of talent and mobility had more to do with Germany's goals against stat than lack of discipline. 2 were quirky goals which could have been blamed on the GK. Not to mention the offensive talent they played against.
When I think of great goals, i put a lot of weight on the importance of the goals and the circumstances. I've seen plenty spectacular goals scored in training.
I thought the goal of the tournament was Nihat for 3-2 against the Czechs. That was a big one.
No Cronaldo in any of the teams? - I thought he was undoubtedly the greatest in the world!? I guess he must've had a terrible tournament.
Speaking of "pint-sized pass-happy pixies" I think Deco is exactly what Chelski need. He provides that reference point they are missing in midfield. I think that's exactly what Liverpool also need.
Deco: 13 goals in 4 seasons does not a Lampard (20 in 2007-8) make.
Chelsea's main problem is scoring goals. While Drogba has been the main provider, having him as the sole target has made Chelsea one dimensional. If Lampard is really to be replaced with Deco it seems to be no help. Not worth much speculation, though, for at least a month.
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