Manchester City

It seemed pretty straightforward at the time. A day after the transfer window closed write a column on some of the bigger moves and some that didn’t come to pass. Then yesterday came and we were hit with the equivalent of a category five hurricane. 

Who could have possibly thought on Sunday evening that within 24 hours Manchester City would be turned into a financial powerhouse and that the new owners (Abu Dhabi United Group) would mark their arrival by signing Robinho?

After all, a week ago the general consensus was that City was in financial and organizational disarray and that the best route for manager Mark Hughes was the door marked exit. Now, he has a board of directors talking instant success, and all funded by a budget that even Roman Abramovich might hesitate to sanction. (Some may argue that the best route for Hughes remains the same.)

The remarkable events of yesterday has left writers, bloggers and fans stunned and grasping to try and understand the full implications of the audacious takeover for the Premiership, as well as European and World football. It has also not stopped many resorting to received wisdom cloaked as insightful comment.  

Most would argue under more sober circumstances that joining the dots between unlimited funds, success and world domination is a tad simplistic but it hasn’t stopped some jumping on board the hyperbole bandwagon as it heads to the north-west of England.
Lots of cash + best players in world = World Domination.

If that is the case then examples should readily come to mind. Chelsea under Abramovich – not even domestic domination let alone global. Real Madrid and the Galacticos era – yeah that worked. Check out how much Inter Milan spent trying achieve success during the 90s – in terms of major trophies it was ####-all squared. Barcelona have spent many fortunes over the years and have won the European Cup just twice in over half a century.

That is not to say that the availability of money doesn’t matter. Money has always being part of the game and identifying and buying the right talent at the right price has always been a key skill set of any successful manager. In terms of British managers from Herbert Chapman and the Bank of England Arsenal side of the 30s to Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Jock Stein and Brian Clough, all were astute buyers of talent.

For Manchester City the requirement to buy at the right price appears to no longer apply but building a team is much more than just signing “world class” players. Quite simply I would refer to a basic definition -  “a team is a group of people with complementary skills committed to a common purpose and a set of goals.”

It is not a group of high priced mercenaries unwilling to sacrifice self for the common guide. Separating players with character from the imposters takes skill, experience and insight – it takes smarts.

Until Manchester City show that they have the smarts I would suggest that a Global Domination Tour 2010 (or 2015 for that matter) might be premature.


Transfers

For the last three months we have been inundated with news of transfers that were sure to be consummated, deals that only needed a signature and daring multi-million dollar raids being planned in bunkers deep below Premiership grounds.

With a lot of last minute wheeling and dealing we are told that a new Premiership spending record of around $1B has been set during the just completed transfer-window. But what of the transfers that  didn’t come to pass?


Here is a list of my top 25 non-transfers.

1.    Samuel Eto’o – Barcelona to assorted clubs. My biggest surprise when you consider that Barcelona was happy to see the back of the former African Player of the Year.  A clear indication that the top clubs believe Eto’o to be more trouble than he is worth.

2.    Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United to Hartlepool United. Forgiven but not forgotten and with cash from the Robinho in-hand we are sure to hear more in ten months time.
 
3.    Gareth Barry – Aston Villa to Liverpool. Wasn’t about the money? Right.

4.    Andrei Arshavin – Zenit St. Petersburg to Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur. You have to feel that Arshavin’s magical European Championship semi-final appearance against Spain cost him dear. Magical? He disappeared.

5.    Emmanuel Adebayor – Arsenal to Barcelona or Milan. So much press but just a reincarnation of numerous Patrick Vieira summers on a smaller scale.

6.    Xabi Alonso – Liverpool to Arsenal, Aston Villa, Juventus. Poor Rafa Benitez. Has to make do with one of the best passers of the ball in the Premiership – with both feet.

7.    David Villa – Valencia to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid. Real Madrid was going to be his destination if it was to move but Valencia decided to continue their flirt with insolvency. Here’s betting that he will have to be sold at a much lower price than Valencia might have demanded coming off the Euros.

8.    David Silva – Valencia to Liverpool, Manchester United. Similar scenario to his teammate Villa. 

9.    Frank Lampard – Chelsea to Inter. Frank demanded a five-year deal and Chelsea with a back bone of jello gave it to him.

10.    Kaka – Milan to Chelsea. Good headlines but little chance that it was actually going to happen.

11.    Gennaro Gattuso – Milan to Bayern Munich. The German club seemed genuinely interested at the start of the summer but it faded quickly. The January transfer window might find Gattuso moving but not to Bayern Munich.

12.    Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – Ajax to assorted clubs. Every year Huntelaar is rumoured to be  a target for the big clubs of Europe. And every year nothing happens. I think the message is loud and clear.

13.    Adrian Mutu – Fiorentina to Roma. Mutu opted to keep faith with the side that resurrected his playing career but with a hefty invoice arriving soon from Chelsea Mutu might have to find funds quickly.

14.    Roque Santa Cruz - Blackburn Rovers to Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United. Another player showing some loyalty to a club that offered an opportunity when many would not.

15.    Thierry Henry – Barcelona to Seattle Sounders, New York Red Bulls, Manchester United. The most unbelievable rumours of the summer.

16.    Diego Forlan – Atletico Madrid to Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur. Forlan may have struck gold in Spain but he will never live down his spell at Manchester United. It would take a gutsy Premiership team to offer Forlan a second chance.

17.    Joao Moutinho – Sporting Lisbon to Everton. An on-going frustration for Everton but I can’t help but feel that Moutinho would not have filled Everton’s needs.

18.    Javier Saviola – Real Madrid to Newcastle. A summer has gone by and Saviola did not change clubs.

19.    Ruben de la Red – Real Madrid to Arsenal. Real Madrid is not so deep in great midfield players that they can afford to let de la Red slip away.

20.    Gokhan Inler – Udinese to Arsenal. Inler enjoyed an excellent European Championship for Switzerland and just signed a long-term deal with Udinese of Serie A.

21.    Branislav Ivanovic – Chelsea to Milan. Signed with a great deal of fanfare last January Ivanovic is on course to challenge Winston Bogarde as  Chelsea’s worst signings of all-time. He has been described as a versatile defender who is able to play any position on the bench if given a chance.

22.    Vagner Love – CSKA Moscow to Everton. This one enjoyed some prominence for a week or so in the form of  a loan deal or a transfer.

23.    Karim Benzema – Lyon to assorted clubs. The young man has showed a great deal of common sense by realizing that he is going to become a better player playing each game for Lyon rather than being rotated at another club. His time will come and it will be big money. (I wonder if he supported Manchester City as a boy?)

24.    Sergio Aguero – Atletico Madrid to assorted clubs. Sit back and wait for the English media to discover a player that by the time the World Cup comes around in 2010 will be regarded as one of the top five talents in the world.

25.    Luis Figo – Inter to UAE, MLS. Remember that back in January Figo was reported to have signed a contract to play in the Middle East? On Saturday there was Figo at 35 starting for Inter.



Newcastle
Whether Kevin Keegan has been fired or has resigned or will be taking training tomorrow doesn’t really matter. Newcastle continues to operate in a shambolic manner with owner Mike Ashley showing he would have trouble finding the ground if he fell out a tree – beer or no beer.

Ashley is another example of the misplaced faith that fans put in businessmen that have a “passion” for their club. It is the “passion” that causes the problem. Better to look for an owner who has a solid long-term plan rather than one who has a desire to kow-tow to the supporters.

I said in the pre-season preview that Ashley had “bit off more than he could chew” and “despite stories of how much money Keegan was to be given to bring new players to St. James’ there has been little indication these past months”.

Less than a month in and Ashley has admitted that he did not undertake any due diligence when buying the club and has been shocked at how much transfer money was owed in deferred payments. (Must have glass doors at St. James’).

Furthermore, it has become clear over the last week that the Newcastle board is willing to sanction the sale of players no matter what the manager thinks.

Semi-Final Preview
Spain vs. Russia
Asked to comment after Greece’s win at Euro 2004 coach Otto Rehhagel said, “First it was about attitude and discipline; then it was organization; then it was results; then it was about self belief; and then it was about the result, the result and the result.”

If Spain goes on to win this tournament Coach Luis Aragones might express similar sentiments. Long dismissed as bottlers and underachievers, Aragones has worked long and hard to reshape the mindset of the Spanish squad. The acid test came last Sunday against World Champions Italy.

We have become use to Spain starting tournaments at a rate of knots but returning home after the quarterfinals has also been a recurring theme. Toss in the fact that Italy has long been Spain’s bête noire together with the hex of losing penalty shootouts on June 22 you can see why Sunday’s win has brought about a renewed belief that the trophy has Spain’s name on it.

Spain also goes into the semifinal knowing that they have already beaten Russia in their opening game of the tournament. What is more Spain has reached the last four without firing on all cylinders. Casillas, Capdevilla, Senna, Silva and Villa of all played well but there have been other players whose play could be described as patchy at best.

Sergio Ramos underwent a particularly tough time against Russia, Iniesta has played poorly, and Torres has yet to hit top form. In the center of the defense Puyol (at times Albiol) and Marchena have accomplished the task without inspiring confidence.

However, Spain also realize that their semifinal opponent has bounced back after the 4-1 loss and has far exceeded the expectations going into the tournament. Before the Euro finals Guus Hiddink had talked down Russia’s chances preferring to to talk about how this tournament would help his team prepare for the World Cup in 2010.

Whether Hiddink was trying to scoot under the radar or the progress of his young team was more rapid than expected, we don’t really know. What we do to know is that Russia has become one of the great stories of this tournament. The transition from a team that stumbled to a qualifying place to a team that is only 180 minutes from winning the European Championship is amazing.

And Hiddink has engineered the change through evolution rather than revolution. Igor Akinfeev, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Andrei Arshavin, Aleksandr Anyukov, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Sergei Semak were all part of the Russian side that played against Slovakia just before Hiddink’s arrival less than three years ago.

But you don’t even have to to go back that far. On September 12, 2007 Russia played England at the new Wembley in a critical Euro qualifier. England won 3-0 and to say that Russia looked ordinary would be an exaggeration.

They looked awful. But eight of the players that were so badly beaten at the new Wembley nine short months ago will most certainly line up against Spain today. Of the other three, goalkeeper Akinfeev was injured and not available, Pavlyuchenko was on the bench while Semak was out of favor and only recently been recalled.

The contrast between that heavy legged team that was beaten by England and the team that out ran and out played the Netherlands last Saturday is nothing short of phenomenal. According to Opta Sportsdata Semak covered 9.3 miles while Zyryanov and Zhirkov were not far behind.

The man responsible for Russia’s fitness is Dutchman Raymond Verheijen. Raymond Verheijen also worked with Hiddink when the Netherlands reached the semifinal of the World Cup in 1998 and with South Korea when they reached the same stage four years later.

Verheijen’s background is academic as well as practical implementation. His book, “Conditioning for Soccer,” was published in 1998 and is still available. He has also contributed to research that studied referees errors (they found that errors were more likely the closer the referee was to the incident), and the positioning of assistant referees in relation to offside calls.

Verheijen is considered to be a critical element in Russia’s success. It was on his recommendation that the date of a pre tournament friendly game against Lithuania was changed to June 4 from June 3.



Keys to the Game
Denis Kolodin had torrid time against David Villa in the first team of the tournament but settled down to become a vital part of the Russian defense in the next four games. It would have been interesting to see if he could handle Villa after being burned so badly only a couple weeks ago but we won’t get the chance because he is suspended after picking up two yellow cards.

It looks as if one of the Berezutski twins – Vasily – will partner Sergei Ignashevich in defense. However, both of the Berezutskis are painfully slow and that is certainly something that Villa and Torres will test.

At the other end Spain will need to take care of Arshavin and the much lighter and more mobile Pavlyuchenko. The big striker lost close to 9 pounds in the lead up to the tournament and this has contributed to a marked improvement in his game.

Both he and Arshavin are willing to take up wider and deeper positions and that poses problems for defenders. Go with them and you run the risk of leaving space for other attackers to fill; let them go and they have the opportunity to turn and run at defenders with great pace.

Look for the Russian pair to pull into wide positions or perhaps even start there in order to stretch central defenders Puyol and Marchena and defensive midfielder Marcos Senna.


Comment of the Day
“"Marco van Basten used to ask me why we had to win and also be convincing," Arrigo Sacchi remembers."A few years ago France Football made their list of the 10 greatest teams in history. My Milan was right up there. World Soccer did the same: my Milan was fourth, but the first three were national teams - Hungary '54, Brazil '70 and Holland '74. And then us. So I took those magazines and told Marco, 'This is why you need to win and you need to be convincing.' I didn't do it because I wanted to write history. I did it because I wanted to give ninety minutes of joy to people. And I wanted that joy to come not from winning, but from being entertained, from witnessing something special. I did this out of passion."” - Jonathan Wilson writing in the Guardian.


Stat Fact
“This (Spain vs. Russia) is the ninth time that two countries have met in the group phase and the knock-out stages of a European Championship or World Cup. The only countries to win the knock-out encounter after first losing in the group phase are West Germany against Hungary at the 1954 World Cup and the Netherlands against the Soviet Union at Euro 1988.” – BBC.


Match Report
Spain 3-0 Russia
As a contest it never reached the heights that we had a right to expect.  However, it was a Spanish master class of passing and movement when they had the ball and of shutting down the opposition when they didn’t. 

From the start Spain showed much more ambition and initiative.  Spain refused to allow Russia to settle in to the pattern of play that had worked so well and had been so successful against the Netherlands.

It took until almost the last minute of play for Casillas to make his first save of the match so dominant was the Spanish back four. Puyol and Marchena had their best game of the tournament while Capdevila did not put a foot wrong.

In Sergio Ramos Spain had a full back who was almost flawless in defense and also found time to push forward and was a constant menace to Russia.

David Villa’s injury after less than 30 minutes threatened to disrupt Spanish plans but rather than opting for a like-for-like change Coach Luis Aragones chose to reinforce his midfield and change from a 4-1-3-2 formation to a 4-1-4-1. On came Fabregas and slowly but surely Spain suffocated the life out of Russia.

When Russia gained possession they were instantly closed down and hurried into rash and wayward passes. Even though the game was scoreless on half time it was obvious that Guus Hiddink needed to kick start his Russian team. But you can’t tackle what you can’t catch and that was definitely the case today.

The first Spanish goal was perhaps slightly fortunate given that Iniesta look to have shot rather than have passed. But a pass it turned out to be as Xavi timed his run and deflected the ball past a helpless Akinfeev.

 As Russia tried to push forward Spain enjoyed even more freedom and was much more likely to add to their lead. And so it was when a terrific flick from Fabregas found Guiza who beat the offside trap and then the goalkeeper.

Fabregas was the architect of the third and final goal when he delivered an inch perfect pass to the outstanding David Silva. Silva calmly picked his spot and completed a very impressive Spanish win. On the day Russia just could not match Spain in any department.

Based on his performance Spain will likely go into Sunday’s final as favorite.  But that has not necessarily been a good thing at this tournament. Great performances seem to be tantamount to painting a large target on your back at Euro 2008.

We will see.

Spain 2-1 Sweden

During the qualifying stage these two teams shared the spoils with a win each and it seemed that we were heading for a stalemate as the seconds ticked down. The difference, in the end, came down to a long clearance downfield from Capdevilla (?), tiring Swedish legs and the spirit of David Villa that inspired him to chase the ball down, compose himself and to side foot the winner past Isaksson.

Based on share of the play it was a deserved winner but Sweden provided much stiffer opposition than a Russian side that almost presented goals to Spain last Tuesday. Thoughts that another avalanche of Spanish goals might be in the offing received some encouragement when Torres showed his goal poacher instincts after only fifteen minutes. The Liverpool striker stretched for a ball played diagonally towards the six-yard box at midriff height. His studs made contact and Spain led.

As it often does, going a goal behind provides the impetuous to go forward and so it was for Sweden. The Spanish defence started to creak and the loss of Puyol only added to the problem. Ibrahimovic worked hard to create his shooting chance but the Spanish defenders and goalkeeper Iker Casillas were guilty of some very slack play.

The Swedish goalscorer did not come out for second half and with his absence Sweden was relegated to increasingly infrequent counter attacks. With no one to hold the ball up and to occupy the Spanish defenders almost every clearance was pinning its way back towards the Swedes penalty area in super quick time.

But just as it looked as if Sweden would leave with a point Villa’s fourth goal of the tournament gave Spain three points.   

Greece 0-1 Russia

The result was more important than the performances in this one. Greece loses and can go home early. Russia may also be catching an early flight but at least they will go into the final game against Sweden with a chance to progress. Sweden only needs a draw but Russia will look to the return of Andrei Arshavin after suspension as a major boost ahead of Wednesday’s decider.

Comment of the Day

“The Dutch have dared to identify and promote new talents, while the French, like the Italians, are paying a price for clinging to players of a certain vintage. Yes, Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry have been to the top of the world, but neither has been a regular starter with their club, Barcelona, and Henry's sinews are not the reliable carriers of his refined skills that we grew to admire.

By contrast, although the Netherlands' coach, Marco van Basten, has recalled Ruud van Nistelrooy to lead his attack, he has trusted in the engine power, the youth, and the ability of Sneijder and the creative touches of Rafael van der Vaart. The coach also, with a nudge from providence, has Dirk Kuyt on his right wing.” – Rob Hughes writing for the International Tribune.

Tip for the Day

Instantly distrust any article or commentator that describes the current Dutch team as playing Total Football ala Cruyff, Ajax and Netherlands in the seventies. They either did not see the Dutch play at their peak or they have a very poor grasp of the concept.

At this tournament Marco van Basten has the Dutch playing a system that makes the most of the talent and abilities that he has available – basically what all coaches are expected to do. So far the back four has held up well and the two deeper sitting midfield players (mostly Engelaar and De Jong) have covered space and offered effective defensive cover.

They defensive six have provided a platform from which the likes of Sneijder and van der Vaart can display their attacking talents. Up front operating as a lone striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy has shown that old horses can learn new tricks. The ability to break at speed has made the Dutch counter attacks spectacular and lethal but they owe little to the concept of total football.

So far van Basten has his team playing a very effective but relatively rigid 4-2-3-1 system that is markedly different from the free flowing changing-position-almost-at-will philosophy we saw from teams inspired by Rinus Michels. Michels required his players to be masters of technique and to be tactically aware. Everyone should be able to play anywhere was the basic idea but it needed almost perfect players to achieve it.

The 1974 Dutch team was pretty close. Suurbier, Ruud Krol, Rijsbergen and Haan were all accomplished players that could fit into almost any role asked of them. The midfield did not have relatively static defensive midfielders but had Jansen, Neeskens and the beautiful left foot of Wim Van Hanegem. Then we had Cruyff, Johnny Rep and Rob Rensenbrink in attack.

Even goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed – considered by many to be the weak link – made up for many of his short comings by playing at times as sweeper as the Dutch back four pushed forward. What is more is that there were superb players on the bench that could fit the Michels system without a step being missed.

The Dutch have been a revelation so far in this tournament but it is not because of any adherence to the philosophy of Total Football.

Group D

Greece has appeared at two European Championship finals in 1980 in Italy and in Portugal four years ago.


How they qualified
An impressive record of ten wins, a draw and only one loss brought Greece thirty-one points, the best points haul by any country in the qualifying rounds. The single loss was a humiliating one – 4-1 to Turkey in Greece – and it might of led to a meltdown in years gone-by.

Instead Greece rebounded with eight wins and a draw (Norway) while Turkey set off in a different direction with only one win in their next six games. Greece cruised through finishing seven points ahead of Turkey in Group C and eight ahead of Norway. Theofanis Gekas was Greece’s leading scorer with five goals including a hat trick against Malta.


The Coach
Otto Rehhagel is now the longest serving and with a shadow of a doubt the most successful international manager that Greece has ever had. Not bad for a man who lost 5-1 to Finland back in 2001 on his debut. A sign of how far Greece has come under his management is the resilience of the team. Even failing to make it to the World Cup finals in 2006 was met with renewed vigour to make sure that as reigning European champions they would be on hand to defend their title in Switzerland and Austria this summer.

Rehhagel has been coaching since the mid-seventies although all his previous appointments had been in Germany where he accumulated all sorts of coaching records.


Key Players
Theofanis Gekas has scored a lot of goals in the Bundesliga over the last two seasons and Greece’s progress may be dependent on his goal scoring exploits. Sotirios Kyrgiakos moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2006 after a season with Rangers and is a man-mountain of a defender who offers a threat at set pieces. Benfica’s Giorgos Karagounis is the driving force in the Greek midfield and a free kick specialist.


Great Euro Memory
Well this is not a difficult one to pick. Four years ago Greece got off to a flying start beating the host nation Portugal in the opening game. Twenty-two days later they repeated the feat in the final after beating France and the Czech Republic in the knock-out stage with a smothering style of defense not seen for a couple of decades. Greece lifting the European championship was the biggest ever shock in European football.


Synopsis
The current European Champions will not be slipping under the radar this time. Last time Rehhagel had the team primed and they executed his plan to perfection. Four years on he will again place his faith in many of the same players although he has found places for some younger talent. It is difficult to see how Greece can repeat but four years ago it seemed impossible that they could be crowned the Kings of Europe. But if there is one team that will play to maximum of their collective capabilities it will be Greece under Rehhagel.


Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying
Group 2 will also consist of Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg.




Russia - Under the guises of the Soviet Union and then the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1992 it is difficult to assign any lineage to Russia’s long term participation. However, they did compete as Russia in the 1996 and 2004 finals and at the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. However, they failed to move on from the group stage in any of their appearances.


How they qualified
The group table tells us that Russia finished five points behind Group E winners Croatia and a single point ahead of third place England and Israel. However, that does no justice to the last game dramatics that saw Croatia going to Wembley having already secured a place in the finals and Russia traveling up a mountain to face Andorra.

After going two goals down to Croatia England drew level and were in a position to qualify if they could only hold on the draw. But Croatia scored again to break a 2-2 tie; Russia secured an unimpressive 1-0 win over Andorra and England’s players made plans to take a longer summer break. Aleksandr Kerzahkov scored six times for Russia including a hat trick against Andorra and a double against Estonia.


The Coach
Guus Hiddink’s record in international competition is impressive. At France ’98 the Netherlands were unlucky to lose on penalties to Brazil; four years later he masterminded South Korea’s path to the last four; in 2006 he led Australia to a place in the last sixteen. Unfortunately for Hiddink the extraordinary is now expected and that is true for Russia. However, Hiddink has been trying to talk down the expectations surrounding Russia’s performance this summer preferring to cast the 2010 World Cup as the primary target.


Key Players
Andrei Arshavin plays his club football for Zenit Saint Petersburg but he could be a big money transfer target this summer. Outstanding individual skills with great anticipation and has the ability to fill a number of different roles in midfield and attack – a real craftsman. There is however, one rather large problem – Arshavin is suspended for Russia’s first two matches after striking an Andorran player late in the last qualifying game.

The heritage of fine Russian goalkeepers seems safe. CSKA Moscow’s Igor Akinfeev at only 22 is one of the best young keepers in the world and will probably fight in out with Zenit St. Petersburg’s Viacheslav Malafeev for the starting spot.

Although Aleksandr Kerzahkov was Russia’s top scorer in the qualifying group stage he has been omitted from the Russian squad. Hiddink has a couple of other options in his back pocket in Roman Pavlyuchenko and Pavel Pogrebnyak – although as players with similar styles it unlikely that they will teamed together.

Pavlyuchenko came against England and scored twice to give Russia and come from behind 2-1 win while Pogrebnyak has scored four times in nine appearances for the national team and scored ten times in Zenit St. Petersburg’s successful UEFA Cup run just past. Pogrebnyak missed the UEFA Cup and he is battling an injury that has him doubtful for the Euros.


Great Euro Memory
If you consider the Soviet Union’s participation then the greatest achievement is winning the first competition in 1960. Metreveli equalized for the Soviet’s just after half time following a first half goal from Yugoslavia’s Galic. The final went to extra time before Ponedelnik scored the winning goal with seven minutes left.


Synopsis
Any side coached by Dutchman Guus Hiddink cannot be discounted although Russia was the recipient of a couple of fortunate breaks during qualifying. Replacing Arshavin for the first two games may be impossible and the lack of pace in defence may haunt Russia.


Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying
Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Wales, Finland and Germany will be the opposition in Group 4.



Part One - History and Background


Part Two – Portugal and the Czech Republic.


Part Three - Switzerland and Turkey.


Part Four - Austria and Croatia.


Part Five - Germany and Poland.


Part Six - France and Italy


Part Seven - Netherlands and Romania.


Part 9 coming up on Wednesday - Spain and Sweden.


Predictions Part 10 - June 6