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.
Match Report Spain 1-0 Germany It is very rare for a country to make it through a complete tournament final (6 games in the European championships or 7 at the World Cup) playing almost flawless and entertaining football and in the end still lift the trophy. This Spain has done just that and there can be little doubt that they were the best team at Euro 2008.
Spain may have sputtered sporadically in some of the six games but at no time did the overall quality of their play slip below the opposition’s for 90 minutes or anything close to it.
Germany settled into the final match more quickly and for the first 10 minutes looked to be the most dangerous side. An early slip from Ramos allowed Klose half a chance but his control let him down.
Germany targeted the right side of the Spanish defense trying to split right back Ramos and center back Puyol with passes played into the space between them. A similar tactic would eventually bear fruit although it would be Spain that would prosper rather than Germany.
After some early nerves Spain settled in to their familiar pattern of short quick passes and constant movement in midfield. Halfway through the first 45 minutes a Fabregas to Ramos move finished with Fernando Torres leaping high above the German defense only to see his downward header rebound off the base of the post. With no one to take advantage of the rebound the danger was cleared.
As the first half progressed it became obvious that Germany was carrying a number of players who were just not up to the occasion and could not match Spain’s play. Just after the half hour mark Spain scored what would ultimately be the only goal of the game.
A Xavi Hernandez pass split Metzelder and Lahm. Lahm was guilty of worrying too much about Fernando Torres and not making a great enough effort to get to the ball first. Torres brushed the full back aside and clipped the ball over an advancing Jens Lehmann.
The half time introduction of Marcell Jansen after half time was the catalyst for Germany’s best spell of the game. Even then there was little threat that Iker Casillas would be beaten.
The introduction of Alonso for Fabregas swung any territorial advantage back Spain’s way and although Germany threw more players forward Spain was the team most likely to score.
With expectations raised for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa it will be very interesting to see how Spain reacts.
Ratings
Spain Casillas 7 – Lifting the trophy caused him more problems than the German attack.
Ramos 7 – Improved as the game progressed but mental errors are never far away.
Puyol 8 – Strong in the air and along with Marchena (8) presented a formidable barrier.
Capdevilla 7 – Had little to do but what he did do was accomplished with great effectiveness and efficiency.
Senna 9 – Another outstanding display of defensive midfield play but also exhibited great mobility and could have even scored in the last few minutes as he appeared in Germany’s six yard box.
Iniesta 9 – Enjoyed his best performance of the competition. If he put a foot wrong then I missed it. He was at the centre of most of Spain’s moves constantly prompting, passing and supporting.
Xavi Hernandez 8 - Just a smidgen off a 9. Played the through ball that Torres latched onto and scored from.
Cesc Fabregas 7 - Struggled to stamp any authority on the match.
Silva 7 – One of his quietest games of the tournament and was not as influential as we’ve come to expect.
Torres 8 – His pace and power a constant threat to the German defense. But even scoring the winning goal wasn’t enough to stop Aragones from substituting him.
Substitutes Alonso 7 – Helped Spain through the vital last half an hour.
Cazorla 7 – Brought on to replace Silva after he went head-to-head with Podolski. Did what he was supposed without being flashy.
Guiza 7 – With 12 minutes to go he had little time to establish himself but still delivered 100% effort in that time.
Germany
Lehmann 8 – Some may criticize him for the goal that was conceded but I wouldn’t. He never looked comfortable but he still pulled off three very good saves.
Friedrich 7 – Spain rarely attacked down Germany’s right and and for large spells of the game he was hardly noticeable.
Mertesacker 8 – Battled bravely and without him the the destination of the trophy would have been decided long before 90 minutes was up.
Metzelder 5 – The doubts about Metzelder’s readiness for this tournament were widely discussed in the lead up. Any problems he had in the previous games had not proven costly. It was not the case tonight. Nervous, indecisive and off the pace of the game.
Lahm 5 – At fault for the goal he only lasted 45 minutes.
Frings 7 – He fought the good fight and perhaps if he had better support in midfield the outcome might have been different.
Hitzlsperger 5 – Out of his depth. Lucky to last as long as he did.
Schweinsteiger 6 – A big disappointment. His set pieces were very poor and his hesitation to deliver early passes when the opportunity arose stifled a number of promising opportunities.
Ballack 7 – He was too occupied trying to contain the Spanish midfield and had little time to get forward and to support Klose.
Podolski 6 - Accomplished little and was never a threat.
Klose 6 – He never look comfortable, his touch was off and he strayed into off-site positions too often and too easily.
Substitutes Jansen 7 – He showed some of the form that was on display in the first game against Poland. A willingness to get stuck in and win some tackles provided a platform for some early German attacks in the second half.
Kuranyi 5 - He was given over 30 minutes to make an impact and he didn’t.
Gomez 5 – He spent as much time on the field has Guiza and delivered about 80% less.
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.
Thank you to all the posters and readers who take the trouble to read the blog each day. A special thanks to some of the new posters who have come to the blog during the Euros. I hope you can stick around.
Quarter Final Spain vs. Italy Preview – Of all the quarter finals this one is the most beautifully and finely balanced. For each Italian ying, you can find a Spanish yang. Recent history in major tournaments suggests a win for Italy, but current form points towards Spain.
If Gianluigi Buffon is the best goalkeeper in the world then Iker Casillas can’t be far behind. I.D. Luca Toni as the definitive target man and scorer and Spanish fans can counter with the speed and strength of David Villa and Fernando Torres.
Cynics might even point out that the both sets of centre backs are on par – each pairing looks good when the ball is at the other end of the park. Spain is likely to be without Carles Puyol and a central defensive pairing of Valencia’s Raul Albiol and Carlos Marchena can only increase the level of confidence……if you are Italian.
There again, you also get the feeling that Christian Panucci and Giorgio Chiellini constitute a make shift solution to a defence that has lacked the composure normally provided by Fabio Cannavaro.
The full backs are another saw-off. At their best Zambrotta and Grosso (Italy) and Ramos and Capdevilla (Spain) can get forward and effectively support the attack from wide positions.
So where will this one be won and lost? Not surprisingly it will be probably come down to who can most effectively control the midfield. There is a difference in how both sides normally line up. Italy favour a 4-3-2-1, Spain 4-1-3-2. For Spain the first-choice defensive midfielder is Marcos Senna and he will prowl the area in front of the back four looking to control (probably) Cassano and Perrotta.
However, the most intriguing contest will be between Italy and Spain’s defensive and attacking midfield trios. Barring surprises Spain will start Xavi and David Silva with Iniesta (who hasn’t had a particularly good tournament so far) or Fabregas.
All three players are comfortable on the ball and are first rate passers – their problem is if it comes down to heavy lifting can they match Ambrossini and De Rossi? Ambrossini would appear to be the logical replacement for the suspended Gennaro Gattuso while Daniele De Rossi, who has enjoyed a great tournament since being left on the bench for the first game against Netherlands, will join him in the engine room.
The suspension of Andrea Pirlo means that Italy needs to find another playmaker to centre Ambrossini and De Rossi and only option is Roma’s Alberto Aquilani. The responsibility will be a test for Aquilani who at 24 next month is the youngest member of Italy’s squad.
His international experience for country and club is limited and we have become use to him being revered to as a future star. If Italy is to move on to the semi finals it may well be that being a star of the future just won't hack it anymore and the future must start today.
Referee: Herbert Fandel, assistants: Carsten Kadach, Volker Wezel (all Germany), fourth official: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Spain 0-0 Italy (Spain win 4-2 on penalty kicks) It was a terse, tense and and a largely forgettable one-hundred and twenty minutes with the penalty kick decider providing the only moment of sustained excitement.
While the absence of Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo did not hurt Italy defensively, they certainly missed the playmaking of Pirlo. What he would normally accomplish in one pass was taking two of three today. And when the pass finally arrived at its intended target, Spain had anticipated the danger.
Spain enjoyed the vast majority of possession but with De Rossi and Ambrosini sitting deep their midfield found it difficult to spring Villa and Torres as Italy plugged the passing lanes. And so chances for both sides were extremely limited. Even the substitutions made by both coaches failed to break the predictable pattern.
And so it came down to penalties. De Rossi’s miss gave Spain the upper hand but Buffon’s save from Guiza opened the door for a turnaround. However, Casillas got the better of Di Natale and it was left for Fabregas to sink the fifth and winning penalty for Spain.
Best for Italy on the day were Chiellini and De Rossi while for Spain Silva and Senna worked tirelessly. Spain goes on to play Russia in the semifinal, and for Italy it is Goodnight Vienna.
Comment of the Day “I’ve been reading what foreign journalists say about Holland. There is one recurring story: the Dutch always destroy themselves through infighting, but this time they haven’t yet. This shoddy half-truth misses the point about Dutch football. Holland are good precisely because our players quarrel about football.” – Simon Kuper.
Prediction Update Russia’s win yesterday was more bad news for many of you who posted predictions. Netherlands was a popular pick to make it to at least the semi final stage while those picking Russia to progress that far was limited to two or three. The updated standings will be posted tomorrow at the conclusion of the quarter finals.
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.
I have been amiss in not thanking all the regular posters and from what I have seen a good number of new ones. I am constantly amazed the number of posts the blog receives and the quality.
If it wasn't for you the blog would not exist.
Yesterday's offside decision
On the day 3 blog and on a number of other websites there seems to be a lot of folks quoting the Laws of the Game (or rules as many are stating) and Advice to referees.
The only reference to defenders leaving the field of play that I can see in the July 2007 version (page 102) is:
“If
a defending player steps behind his own goal line in order to place an
opponent in an offside position, the referee shall allow play to continue
and caution the defender for deliberately leaving the field of
play without the referee’s permission when the ball is next out of play.”
So are the laws as posted by FIFA outdated? If so where is the current version? And finally for a UEFA official to say that the rule interpretation is not widely known by the players is a disgrace. It is up to the governing body to ensure that if a law is to be interpreted differently then the players should be told.
Day 4
Spain 4-1. Russia
It looked as if Guus
Hiddink decided that the best way of hiding a porous defence was to go after
the Spanish backline. Hiddink’s decision to play an open game certainly created
some chances for his Russian side. However, the Russian strikers failed to take
advantage of the opportunities that came their way and instead Russia were left
open to the sort of swift counter attacks that Torres and Villa feast on.
The opening goal was Torres
at his best. The ball played forward into space, Torres outmuscles a Russian
defender and then slips it to Villa as he arrives in the penalty area. The second
a killing pass from Iniesta and a wonderfully timed run from Villa.
Aragones was quick to ring
the changes in the second half but it did little to change the pattern of the
game. Two goals down Russia had no plan B and continued to press forward at
every opportunity. The result was the same with Villa notching his hat trick and in the process adding $10M to the price
that Real Madrid will pay for him later this summer.
A silver lining for Russia - admitedly a very small one - was Diniyar
Bilyaletdinov who proved to be a continual irritant to Sergio Ramos. Meanwhile the rest of
the Spanish back four looked none too comfortable either. But it took until
later in the game for Russia to score and even then Spain countered to make it
4-1.
The
Spanish off to their usual fast start while it was clear to see why Guus
Hiddink has spent so much time talking down Russia’s 2008 chances. Spain cannot
expect to be given as much space as they were granted today so I’m not sure
that this result tells us anymore about Spain’s chances than we knew before the
tournament.
Greece 0-2 Sweden
If you recorded this game with
the intention of watching it later then do yourself a favour and fast forward
to the 67th minute. You can see Ibrahimovic scoring a cracking goal
and you will have also captured the only high point o####ame that never threatened to
rise above the level of mediocre.
Greece inspired by Claude
Makelele’s ability to spray immaculate 10 yard passes left and right but never
forward showed no interest in making this match even remotely interesting to the
neutral fan. Long diagonal “passes” played in behind the Swede’s right back Alexandersson
and a few meandering runs by 2004 hero Charisteas was the limit to Greece’s
attacking intent.
Sweden at least made an
attempt to go forward although their execution was often poor. Just after Ibrahimovic’s
out-of-nothing goal defender Peter Hansson added another to put the game way
beyond the reigning champs after some comedy-defending from Greece.
Comment of the Day
“We’ll only miss the English when it comes to penalties.” - Lothar
Matthäus.
For those of you who enjoy more statistics with your game Castrol is sponsoring a web page as part of UEFA.com.
Spain has qualified from the qualifying group stage of every European Championship bar two – 1972 and 1992. Seven times they have failed to progress past the last eight. In 1964 they won the European Championship and the two decades later they lost in the final to France. Four years ago they failed to qualify along with Russia in a group in which Portugal, and Greece moved on.
How they qualified Losses away to Sweden and Northern Ireland in the opening three games placed Spain firmly behind the eight-ball. However, they responded magnificently with eight wins and a draw away to Iceland the only blemish. Spain finished two points ahead of runners-up Sweden and eight ahead of Northern Ireland and Denmark. David Villa’s six goals for Spain all arrived in the first seven games of group play.
The Coach Describing Luis Aragones as controversial is a bit like saying Celtic and Rangers fans don’t often see eye-to-eye. If he isn’t feuding with players and the media, he is spouting inflammatory comments. At 70 years-old Aragones will be the oldest manager at the competition and he will step down at the conclusion of the tournament.
Key Players Last summer Fernando Torres’ move from Atletico Madrid to Liverpool was widely questioned given the money Liverpool paid and the fact that Torres had never scored twenty goals in a season.
Nearly twelve months later Torres has scored many more than twenty goals and is considered a bargain at $45m+. Valencia’s David Villa and Mallorca’s Daniel Guiza (top scorer in La Liga this past season) are also available and offer credible alternatives to Torres.
In goal Spain are very strong with Iker Casillas backed-up by Liverpool’s Pepe Reina and Sevilla’s Andres Palop. Sergio Ramos has developed into an outstanding defender for Real Madrid and this tournament might contribute to his growing reputation.
Great Euro Memory Spain won the European Championship in 1964 beating the Soviet Union 2-1. In the qualifying rounds Spain had beaten Romania and both of the Irelands.
The final was laced with politics as four years earlier the Fascist Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco had ordered Spain not to play the Soviet Union at the quarter final stage.
The Soviet’s then received a bye into the semis and eventually won the competition. However, in 1964 Franco could not resist the chance to demonstrate Spain’s superiority on the football field.
Spain beat a very good Hungary side 2-1 after extra time in the semi final while the Soviet Union dispatched Denmark 3-0. In the final Pereda gave Spain an early lead only for Khusainov to equalize before ten minutes was gone.
The score remained deadlocked until Marcelino (Real Zaragoza) scored from a header with only six minutes left. (The current Spanish squad recently met the 1964 team).
Synopsis Along with Russia, Spain is generally considered to be the consummate underachiever of world football. At so many major tournaments Spain has, on paper, a side capable of winning the whole enchilada.
But, games are not won on paper and we have become use to Spain starting a tournament like gangbusters only to fold like a cheap deckchair come the knock out rounds. They have the players – do they have the temperament and will they get a couple of fortunate breaks along the way?
Ironically Spain’s soft spot might be in midfield and that in turn may put the centre of defence under stress and strain. In midfield tidy passing types pervade but they may turn out to be lightweight over three weeks of competition. Ball possession may not be a problem but winning it and moving it quickly to the strikers could be.
Defensively in the middle of the park Marco Senna is the only specialty holding midfield player while the settlement of the feud between Valencia and gritty midfielder David Albelda came too late for his inclusion in the Spanish squad.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Group 5 also consists of Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Armenia and Estonia.
Sweden has only competed at three previous European Championship finals. The first time was as host in 1992 when they reached the last four. They missed out in 1996 but qualified for the first time for the 2000 competition and appeared again four years later.
How they qualified Just under half of Sweden’s twenty-six points came from four consecutive wins to start Group F. With a six point gap with third place Northern Ireland it looks as if the Swede’s cruised through this group.
However, it needed a last round win against Latvia to secure the runners-up spot to Spain. A loss to Latvia and a win (all be it a shock one) by Northern Ireland in Spain would have meant the Irish traveling to Austria and Switzerland this summer. Old stand-by Marcus Allback scored six of Sweden’s twenty-three goals.
The Coach This will be the third trip to the European Championship finals for Lars Lagerback. Lagerback was initially appointed as the assistant to Tommy Soderberg 1998 before being appointed co-coach two years later. After Euro 2004 Soderberg stepped aside and Lagerback assumed sole control of the team.
Key Players Sweden will be heavily reliant on Inter’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic but the big striker has seen the edge go from his game since the turn of the year as he has battled a knee problem. Henrik Larsson has broken his international retirement again (more comebacks than Frank Sinatra) although his recall is more likely a sign of weakness in the squad than strength.
In attack John Elmander provides a big physical presence up front and he has scored at a respectable rate of one goal every three games for Sweden. He plays his club football for Toulouse has hit double figures in goals the last two seasons and is regularly mentioned in transfer talk. In midfield Kim Kallstrom has a prodigious work rate and an excellent left foot.
Great Euro Memory When Sweden hosted in 1992 they were drawn in a group with France, Denmark and England. Sweden drew the opener with France 1-1 and then proceeded to beat the eventual winners Denmark 1-0 courtesy of Leeds “legend” and Howard Wilkinson’s mate Thomas Brolin.
That set up a last round match against an England who in theory could have have qualified with a high scoring draw if the Denmark-France match had finished tied. In reality England really needed to win and going in at half time leading through an early David Platt goals things looked good for them. However, Jan Eriksson equalized just after half time and then a goal by Brolin was the final nail in England’s coffin.
In the semi-final Germany knocked Sweden out 3-2 although the score-line made the game seem closer than it actually was.
Synopsis Sweden regularly makes it to the World Cup finals but looks like a team that once it has hit the knock out stages is satisfied and ready to fly home. In Portugal four years ago Sweden played out a dreadful scoreless draw before losing to the Netherlands on penalties in a quarter final game. Competent but never a threat to win – that sums up Sweden.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Drawn in Group 1 along with Portugal, Denmark, Hungary, Albania and Malta.
LGB – 1. Any chance you are going to be able to leave NA and go see some Euro matches? 2. Have you been to any Cup Finals? Worked any? 3. You see what’s going on with Liverpool how often do you think this happens in boardrooms(in the background that is)? 4. If you could do your own short list for PFA player of the year, who would be on that list? 5. You said last week that United's system of attacking is a variation of the Dutch system using fewer players. Has Ferguson reinvented himself with this approach? I don't remember the high-flying United teams earlier in this decade using this type of attack. 6. Speaking of the Ferguson's, I read the article on Darren. Have you seen any of Peterborough's games? Is he worth all the press? 7. Finally...has anyone offered you a bribe to pump up their team on the FSR?
Bobby – 1. No chance whatsoever.
2. I’m assuming you mean FA Cup Finals? – No.
3. I think you would find this sort of thing at lower levels but not at the top flight. You are dealing with multi million pound budgets and usually that brings with it some sober second thought. You don’t call for the CEO’s resignation knowing that you don’t have the votes to achieve it without it being part of a longer term objective. What’s his longer term objective? I can only guess the purpose it to continue to poison the atmosphere to the extent that Gillett bales or the other directors will pay a healthy premium to get rid of Hicks.
4. Ronaldo, Torres and four others.
5. United has help true to attacking football right from the Busby era. It is part of the culture to go out and entertain – that was why I questioned the fielding of two defensive midfield players at the start of the season. Ferguson from his days at St. Mirren (perhaps even East Stiringshire!) and Aberdeen has been a manager who likes to go forward and take the play to the opposition. I think the only thing that is different this season is how fluid their play is and that comes down to the players he has.
6. Really don’t know anything about Posh (the team not the “singer”) apart from the owner Barry Fry. The press are taking an interest because of the family but also at this time you will see a few articles about younger managers pushing for promotion spots in the lower leagues. Paul Ince got some attention after MK Dons won at Wembley and Swansea’s Spanish manger Roberto Martinez has also received some coverage.
7. Yes it happens on a fairly regular basis and I have even been threatened.
Matt_Johnston - I know this is a common question, but in light of the attention paid to the Champions League has the domestic cup challenges become something of an after thought for the top clubs in any league, whether it is the EPL, SPL, La Liga, Serie A, League 1, etc? As you mention Cardiff and Queen of the South (what a story there) getting to their respective finals, but it goes even deeper than that. In Scotland, Rangers, Celtic, et al and in the FA Cup, every one of the big four teams was gone by the semi-finals if not before.
Bobby – First of all I think you have to consider that some countries don’t have a deep Cup tradition – Italy is good example of that. What I find strange is that it was my sense that more teams took the FA Cup “seriously” this season than in previous years and we got the wackiest results in a couple of lifetimes.
The format of single game cup ties lend themselves to surprises so maybe what we are seeing is that trend being reestablished and making up for some predictable finalists over the last decade or so.
Ranges and Celtic have dominated Scottish football to a large extent for over one hundred years but they have contested 14 finals out of a total of 122. You would need to do a bit more analysis to find out how many times one of the Old Firm has knocked the other out before the final but even so it shows that there is a good chance that at least one finalist in Scotland will not come from the Old Firm.
footie_fan - Bummed you won't be on tonight. Could you give us your views on the two games you watched? Thanks.
Bobby – United and Arsenal game was cracking match. Arsenal had the chances to win the game in the first half but allowed United back into it and United did not pass up the opportunity. United went for the throat – Arsenal didn’t.
TFC and Galaxy was a horrible game but three needed points for Toronto. Like Arsenal, the Galaxy failed to take their chances (Landon Donovan take a bow) and paid the price. I don’t know it was just me but the playing surface at the Home Depot looked to be playing very poorly. The ball seemed to bump along rather than rolling with any consistency.
Dasayev - And speaking of wacky coaching transitions, what about Klinsmann's impending takeover of Bayern? Of course he did a great job at the world Cup but he has no managerial experience at club level and will take over a Bundesliga champion team headed for the CL. And on Bayern, did you catch that finish with Getafe? Between that and Liverpool-Arsenal, it was two of the great finishes in a matter of days...
Bobby – If you get a chance there is a very good article about the Klinsmann appointment in the March issue of World Soccer by Nick Bidwell.
Albertagooner - I caught Inter-Fiorentina and was hugely impressed by Mario Balotelli, a 17-year-old who showed a lot more composure in front of the net than either Adebayor or Wayne Rooney for that matter. Apparently he's hopped ahead of Hernan Crespo in the pecking order, which is why the former Chelsea man will move to Juventus this summer.
Bobby – One of the regular posters was talking Balotelli up earlier this season.
MasMaz - I hope this isn't a trend, all the shows besides Monday and Friday can get a little slow.
Bobby – I try to keep Mondays and Fridays but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
Craigy_f -1. Isn’t it normal protocol for the referee to flip the coin at the beginning of the match? 2. What three things stand out for you in all the football you’ve seen this weekend? 3. To what do you attribute the MLS’s inability to get its best teams into the final of the CONCACAF Champions League. Two wins and one final appearance from ‘97 through 2000 and then nothing? The MLS Cup holders were stifled at home and outplayed comprehensively by a team from Costa Rica and the Supporters’ Shield Holders had a dreadful away leg and didn’t take the opportunities to make the home leg their own. 4. Peter Couch has been rated at 10M GBP and 6M GBP this week, which valuation do you think is closer to the fee he would actually be sold for? 5. Why do we not see ‘three at the back’ formations in the PL? 6. Can you see any of the three promoted Championship teams not going straight back down? 7. Next Jan/Feb there will be no ACoN. Do you see this having any effect on the transfer targets of PL managers (or other big euro league managers) this off season. (Of course it’ll be on in 2010 – football does have a short memory though doesn’t it) 8. Do you think the title race is over?
Bobby – 1. From what I know there is not a rule about who flips the coin. All the rule states is that a coin is tossed and the winner chooses the way to play. The loser gets kick off. I experienced referee’s flipping the coin, and have also seen referees ask one of the two captain’s to flip and the other to call.
2. Hargreaves’ free kick and a great example to a poster of sometime ago of what happens when a wall doesn’t jump. Evra and Clichy putting on a fantastic display of how to play full back. Some great sot blocking from Greg Sutton for Toronto.
3. Not good enough at that stage in the season.
4. Based on transfer inflation at least 10M – is he worth it? I’ll let you decide.
5. Three at the back especially when played at a high temp allows forwards too much space to make runs into. It puts the defenders under lots of pressure and in turn it takes away the option of building through wide positions. It also creates a bit of space for midfielders to attack if the forwards pull the markers wide. Dominant teams can get away with it but a lot of coaches believe that the formation lacks balance.
6. It will be very tough on them. I would hope that West Brom might give it a real shot given Tony Mowbray’s commitment to attack and trying to play from back to front. I’ve mentioned it a number of times that there are a lot of poor teams in the Premiership this season and it is likely that there will be a good number next season as well.
7. It’s been shown that the human brain is more likely to discount the long term in exchange for short term gratification. I can only assume that managers’ brains are wired in a similar way.
8. Two wins and a draw wins the title for United – one win and a draw if the win comes against Chelsea. It is now a Willie Waddell.
Thierry_Henry - Just a personal question if you don’t mind. If you were to compare yourself at FSC with managerial job, which one would mostly be the closest:
-Benitez at Liverpool -Wenger at Arsenal -Mancini at Inter -SAF at UTD -Rijkaard at Barcelona -Ancelotti at Milan - Ramos at Tottenham
Bobby – Alex Rae at Dundee.
Jahmikes - With Ronaldhino pretty much on his way to Milan, what do you think of my Gunners acquiring the services of Seedorf? , He seems to be unhappy with his new role, since the introduction of Pato, I think the price would be right, we would have an experienced player who has won on all levels, and he would provide good leadership for at least three yrs.
Bobby – Not going to happen.
Seanhipworth - How many of Cristiano Ronaldo's goals (in the Premiership) are from the penalty spot? I cannot seem to find this statistic anywhere, (even on ESPN's stats-loaded website). Are these things only Americans care about? Secondly, I assume it's not illegal but it should be: why are players allowed to pause their approach run when taking a penalty? It's hard enough for a keeper to stop it, why does the kicker get to try and fake him out in such a way? I think it's a tasteless way to take a penalty, results aside.
Bobby – From what I gather Ronaldo has scored three goals from the penalty spot in the Premiership. Louis Saha has a couple. In terms of the penalty kick you have to consider that not so many years ago the goalkeeper was not allowed to move at all until the ball was struck. There is nothing within the Rules of the Game but the following appears as part of “Additional Instructions and Guidelines to Referees”.
"Feinting to take a penalty kick to confuse opponents is permitted as part of football. However, if in the opinion of the referee the feinting is considered an act of unsporting behaviour, the player shall be cautioned."
Neophyte - Where would you put the signing of Luca Toni on the scale of successful signings? Is it just the proximity of the stands to the pitch or are the fields smaller in Germany (dimension wise) than you see in England? (It could be my TV...they just look more compact)
Bobby – Toni - very much a success. I doubt very much that fields on average are that much smaller in Germany than England. It is more likely caused by camera angles…..or your set.
Neophyte - I just read a comment on FSC site from Cruyff about Man Utd. being an "English" side that plays the long ball. It seems that stereotypes can blind even some of the most respected soccer minds (talents). It is a good thing that Frank R. is not being advised by Mr. Cruyff....he would have Frank preparing for a different team. What's your prediction for the CL's semis? (any comment on Cruyff's statements?)
Bobby – I’m guessing that Cruyff comments may not have been accurately reported for no other reason than if true it provides greater motivation to United. United to beat Barcelona and I have yet to decide on the other tie.
Aldoray - Which do u think is the lesser of two evils Hicks or Gillete. And why? And have u known of any previous examples in the Prem where 2 people have equal ownership in a club and run it successfully?
Bobby – Gillett has been given – and taken – the better PR advice. They are both experienced and largely successful businessmen but as we have seen on many occasions that does not bring with it a guarantee when owning a football team in Europe. I don’t think either got into this understanding the culture of Liverpool FC and their fans. What’s more it would appear that the previous shareholders were seduced by the money on offer and did not represent the true nature of the purchase offer to the fans.
After stating that they were not offering a Glazer-type leverage buy-out deal it is clear that is exactly what they were intending to do. In that circumstance you cannot separate the two. I think the remark was attributed to Roman Abramovich but I am sure it was not an original – “a hamster is just a rat with with better PR.” That probably sums it up.
It you consider success in the Premiership as winning the League title then you are limited to Manchester United, Arsenal, Blackburn and Chelsea and none of these clubs had a 50/50 shared ownership.
Finally perhaps I should I clarify my answer to LGB way back at the beginning of the responses. The bribes and threats come from the Old Timers team who offer to waive the price of a post match bru or if that doesn’t work to post slanderous remarks on the blog about my on field performances!
Paul Doyle on why it would be a folly to believe that Spurs are too good to go down. He includes a mini-table of the teams that currently occupy the lower reaches of the table – something that I was thinking of pulling together but he got there first.
Plans afoot to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster.
Two weeks ago the Premiership’s bottom three teams ran up against Chelsea (Derby), Arsenal (Wigan) and Manchester United (Bolton). It is a case of more of the same with another weekend dominated by bottom versus top match-ups – or vice-versa.
Arsenal is away to Middlesbrough, struggling Derby is at Old Trafford to play Manchester United, Sunderland is in London to play Chelsea while Reading is home to a rampaging Liverpool side.
Bolton pulled off a massive upset a fortnight ago in beating Manchester United. Can any of these four teams match that performance? If it is to be Boro then they need a seismic improvement in current form.
Arsenal held on at St. James’ Park in midweek for a draw but Boro is without a win in ten Premiership games and have conceded the first goal in twelve of their fifteen league games. It means Boro now occupies a relegation spot for the first time since August 2004.
Very much against the odds Derby has twice won at Old Trafford in the Premiership but another win is as likely as Steve McClaren being told it was all a big mistake and he is still in charge of the England team.
Sunderland pulled off a crucial win against Derby last week courtesy of a last minute goal from Anthony Stokes. Six of Sunderland’s thirteen points have come from goals scored in the 90th minute or later but they face a Chelsea team that has only let in one goal in the last eight league games.
Liverpool is another side that has lowered the shutters over the last few weeks. Nine clean sheets in fourteen games and four consecutive clean sheets since they conceded a late equalizer to Cesc Fabregas at the end of October has helped Liverpool to the best defensive record in the Premiership.
Fernando Torres has scored six of his eleven goals for Liverpool in the Premiership but he has yet to notch a Prem goal away from Anfield.
Reading is eleven points of their pace of last season and a look at the statistics quickly tells you why. A defence that has let in fourteen more goals must take much of the responsibility but an anemic first half attack does not get off scot-free.
The attack has actually one more goal than last season (18 to 17) but only four have come in the first forty five minutes. Last season twelve of their seventeen goals came before the half time cuppa.
Stats corner – Some of the other matches this weekend in the Premiership throw off interesting statistics. Three of the last four league games between Villa and Portsmouth have finished as draws. But Portsmouth has only one Premiership win over Aston Villa, has not won on their last ten visits to Villa Park and their last league win was in the old 2nd Division in 1970.
Tottenham’s woes continued last week as they lost at home to a last minute Birmingham goal. A cure? Well it may come in the form of a visit from Manchester City. In their twenty Premiership games Spurs have taken 45 points from a possible 60 and have only lost twice to City.
However, if you are looking for a team that suffers from travel sickness and in particular a Liverpool version then look no further than Fulham. Fulham has never won a league game at Goodison or Anfield in forty-nine attempts. What is more in thirty-eight league games between Fulham and Everton the away team as only won three – all by Everton. Their last fifteen league matches have all been won by the home side. The game is at Goodison.
In Serie A Inter and Roma now have a bit of padding with a five point gap between second place Roma and third place Juventus. Based on the fixtures this weekend it seems unlikely that Juventus will make up some of that ground.
