Czech Republic The Czech Republic has qualified for four European Championships in four attempts and has only lost two qualifying games along the way.
How they qualified They topped Group D beating out Germany by two points and finished a mammoth twelve points ahead of third place the Republic of Ireland. Jan Koller led the scoring with six goals.
The Coach Karel Bruckner took over the full national team in 2001 after a successful spell in charge of the under-21 side. Since then Bruckner has integrated many of the players from the under 21s that finished second in the 2000 European Championship with remnants from the 1996 European Championship side that finished as runners-up to Germany.
A failure to qualify from the group stages at the 2006 World Cup nearly cost the veteran coach his job but he managed to ride out the criticism. Nonetheless the 67-year-old has decided to retire at the conclusion of the 2008 Euros.
Key Players Tomas Rosicky is injured and he will be badly missed by a side that many consider to be in decline. Goalkeeper Petr Cech will be a key to Czech hopes and confidence as will a back four that has depth with the likes of Grygera, Jankulovski, Rozehnal, Ujfalusi and Kovac to choose from.
Milan Baros was the top scorer at Euro 2004 and is an enigma. The striker has consistently failed to deliver the goods at club level with Liverpool, Aston Villa, Lyon and Portsmouth but put a Czech top on him and another player appears. A scoring rate of almost a goal every two international games places his striking rate among the best in the world.
Great Euro Memory It took a golden goal by Germany’s Oliver Bierhoff in the 1996 final to kill off Czech hopes of becoming European Champion at the first attempt. The Czechs battled Germany all the way and with a break at the right time they could well have won the 1996 tournament.
Synopsis Their finish ahead of Germany while scoring twenty-seven goals and conceding only five flatters to deceive. There is a fine line between experience and old age when it comes to a soccer team and it may just be that the balance has tilted too far in a squad in which nine players the wrong side of 30. Martin Fenin who moved to Eintracht Frankfurt last summer after impressive performances at the under-20 World Cup is the only player under the age of 23 in the squad.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Drawn in Group 3 with Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and San Marino.
Portugal Portugal has now made it to the last four European Championship Finals and qualified for the knock stages in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
How they qualified Portugal finished a point behind Poland in Group A and three points above Serbia and Finland while drawing six of their fourteen games. Ronaldowas the top scorer with eight goals.
The Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari’s relationship with the Portuguese media has plummeted to depths so low that the Brazilian coach might even be regretting turning down the England job in 2006!!
Scolari has proven time and time again that he can create teams that are difficult to beat and in a number of cases his teams have been incredibly successful. Conversely the Scolari-approach more often than not sacrifices players natural flair at the twin alters of the isms – pragmatism and cynicism.
Key Players Cristiano Ronaldo’s importance almost goes without saying (but I thought it should be mentioned anyway) but if you look through the squad of players available to Scolari you cannot fail to be impressed.
The likes of Alves, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Meira, and Miguel are all excellent defenders, while the midfield has a mixture of creativity, strength, experience and pace with Deco, Petit, Nani, Moutinho, Veloso and and Raul Meireles all pushing for spots.
If you look past Ronaldo perhaps the key forward for Portugal might be Werder Bremen’s Hugo Almeida. Almeida’s abilities might be best described as rugged and willing but he might be given the chance to complete a Portuguese puzzle that has repeatedly been missing a piece up top.
Great Euro Memory It was 3-2 loss but the 1984 semi-final against France was an extra time epic in Marseille.
Synopsis Finished as runners up to Greece when they hosted four years ago and a lack of goals from their recognized strikers (or striker) has cost Portugal silverware at past European Championships and World Cups. Portugal looks solid defensively and Cristiano Ronaldo could carry his country deep into the tournament once more.
However, all the other teams are more than aware of Ronaldo’s capabilities and no doubt they will set out to try and nullify him. Deco has been an important part of Scolari’s plans but his form has been generally disappointing over the last year. No goals and only three helpers for Deco during the qualifying stage carries a warning that his most effective days at the top level may be on the wane.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Drawn in Group A with Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania and Malta.
JayFSR - Would you consider The Rep. of Ireland a minnow team? Do you think they will be able to make it through with Italy? I Think Roy Keane should coach them. That would get some results!
Bobby – No. One of my criteria (and it is just how I separate countries in my mind) is to be a top class minnow a country must never have reached the Euro Championships or World Cup Finals.
A country can regain some sort of minnow status by not playing in major finals for the last 20 or 30 years. As it is the Republic fail to meet either criterion.
I cannot see Italy not finishing first but the runners up spot is definitely up for grabs. You may think Roy Keane should coach the team but I doubt Roy does and I really doubt that the FAI does. You will need the entire group that was around in 2002 to be put out to pasture before Roy Keane is considered. What’s more an international team is no job for a very young coach.
Getz76 - What do you think of Sir Alex Ferguson resting C. Ronaldo for an EPL fixture and then losing?
Bobby – Understandable – Ronaldo played two international games with qualification at stake and these games would come with added pressure. United was also playing a team close to the foot of the league with only a single win.
If you are going to ignore these circumstances then you are never going to come up with a justifiable reason to give the player a break and he will just burn out. Ferguson is looking at a picture that is bigger than one game.
Yrusodull - Fergie looks like he may be in it for his comments to officials at the weekend, but I think the officials should be doing the explaining! Over the last 2 weeks bad or missed calls have ruined and / or decided the outcome of several matches. (Scotland vs. Italy, Canada vs. S. Africa, Tottenham vs. West Ham, etc.) Why are the governing bodies not held accountable for this? With the technology available today, some consistency in the calibre of officiating should be obtainable. What can be done to rectify this blight on the beautiful game!
Bobby – I’m not sure how you jumped from a Fergie rant (about Bolton being overly physical) to the issue of bad or missed calls but no matter. In the debate over the use of technology the proponents fail to explain the logistics of how and when it will be used and the longer term impact it will have.
From my perspective technology supporters focus on one off incidents to buttress their case but fail to acknowledge that once the cat is out of the bag then it will subsequently become open season on calling for replays. There is no doubt in my mind that the reviewing of refereeing decisions by replay would eventually lead to a substantial change in the character and quality of the game.
The logical conclusion of refereeing-by-replays– and supported by human nature – will be for the referee to call everything and wait for a replay to change it. Tackle in the penalty area – the referee’s normal response will become to award a penalty and then call for a replay to prove or disprove.
That option is far more palatable than the other which would be to let play go on and have the possibility o####oal at the other end. Then the potential is call back a goal at one end and award a “retroactive” penalty for the first incident. I can see that one going down well at Old Trafford in a scoreless draw with minutes left and United being on the wrong end of the decision!!
However, the best argument against decision by replay is the number of times that a television replay still fails to bring agreement on whether or not the referee was correct.
Technology pushers tend to live in a world where if you just replay an incident then everyone will agree on the call. There is little evidence to support that. There are colour commentators (especially in the US) who operate on the basis that their primary job in the absence of analysis is to critique the referee’s decisions courtesy of replay.
Many times the referee is correct and the colour commentator is wrong and even though they’ve had the benefit of slow motion and time to think about the decision.
Finally you referred to the Spurs – West Ham game. I felt that Mike Riley got both penalty calls correct – you don’t (I assume), so how would technology help? We disagree after seeing the same incidents slowed down many times.
Craigy_f –1) Who would a winter break in the Premier league benefit most? Is it likely to happen? 2) Do you blame the odd dodgy referee for Scotland’s exit or perhaps their failure to get anything in Georgia? 2a) Money aside - would you hazard a guess as to why top English players aren't a sought after export. 3) Care to have a stab at the next England manager? What do you make of the process to pick a new manager so far, Barwick aided by Brooking with input from 'a number of PL managers'? 4) My first and second best moments of the football weekend were 7-1 and Juventus giving Palermo an utter hiding, what are yours? 5) Just let us know how we can put you in a foul mood so we can see some more of that lovely stuff you produced the other day
Bobby 1) The players you would think. I saw some stats a couple of years ago that claimed that Bundesliga players suffered fewer injuries after the winter break than Premiership players. In order for it to work properly the Premiership would have to cut down to 18 teams from 20. Otherwise the same number of games will have to be packed into a smaller window. I don’t think you will see a winter break in the Premiership.
2) I don’t blame the referee for Scotland’s failure. Going into the Georgia game I felt a win was needed – even a draw was not good enough. However, although it was a great effort the reality is that overall Italy and France have much better teams than Scotland.
3) The day before Martin O’Neill “declined” I suggested on the Team1040 radio program from Vancouver that I thought O’Neill would pass on the opportunity. It was a pure gut call. The problem is that after that my gut has taken a break and there are precious few other names that jump out at me.
I don’t think Capello will be offered the job; Louis Van Gaal – horrible media skills. I would be very shocked in Jose Mourinho was really interested let alone take the job. An interesting suggestion I read was Claudio Ranieri.
As for the process – I don’t think there is one. It sounds like another fly by the seat of your pants process. Barwick would give instill a great deal more confidence if he articulated a more formal process – even strike a three man advisory committee or something – and give timelines.
4) Dundee beating Hamilton Accies 1-0 to narrow the gap at the top of the Scottish First Division.
5) Good mood today – sorry.
amenina - 1. What has struck me about this is how huge this story is in the US and international football media. Do you think it'll be as huge if it were France/Germany/Italy/Spain who did not qualify? Somehow I think there wouldn't even be half as much coverage.
2. Do you agree with the following statements? a. The EPL is the most watched league in the US; so naturally, many people support the England NT, 'cos they're familiar with all their players. b. The British media is the most accessible (common language), so the US media report more on the England NT than other national teams. c. Many US commentators are from Britain (you, Webster, Cohen at FSC, and a few folks at ESPN), so they talk more about the England NT 'cos that's what they're familiar with. d. England is such a polarizing team (many love them, others can't stand them), and a "sexy" topic (Beckham, WAGs, all the business at the FA), that them failing is bigger news than many other teams succeeding. (kind of like the Yankees or Mets)
Bobby – 1. No there would not be as much coverage if France/Germany/Italy/Spain did not qualify.
2. a. Disagree – I would suggest that the Mexican league is the most watched league in the USA. I also disagree that you would support a country because you watch a domestic league. The might have a little bit more interest but “support” is too strong a term.
b. Part of the reason but there is much more to it than that. Political and economic ties for a start. Throw in US players playing in the league as well as well as players from a wide array of countries and it is difficult to find a part of the Premiership that someone can’t identify with.
c. I would suggest you have it the wrong way round. If there was more interest in the other domestic leagues then in all likelihood you would have commentators who are more representative of these leagues. In my case I’ve spent well over half my life and almost all my adult life in North America (and none of it in England) so I think your cause and effect is a bit suspect.
d. Who are the Yankees or Mets? Are they in the Conference?
Gregz - Q1. What’s up with Henry, he is really struggling in my opinion. Q2. Tim Vickery seems to believe that Tevez may lose his place as first choice striker to Aguero for Argentina, any thoughts?
Bobby – 1. The season is only three months old. How is he struggling?
2. It’s strange that you should say that because I have never considered Tevez to be Argentina’s first choice striker. He wasn’t going into WC 2006 and certainly not during the tournament. Since then I have seen nothing to indicate that he was Argentina’s default choice to start up front. Aguero is going to become a fantastic player and from what I have seen he appears to be more adaptable to the style of the players – more so than Tevez.
Redfan2000 - Looks like Alex McLeish just quit as Scotland manager Bobby, to take on Birmingham? Seems to me like a step down or is there more to this? What’s your take on this and who do you think will replace him?
Bobby – That is a big disappointment but understandable. International team management is not a career for younger managers more like a stepping stone to rebuild a career or to make a mark.
Either way a return to club management is normally the end result. As a Premiership team Birmingham can pay a lot more (a lot lot more) than Scotland can plus the position offers day-to-day involvement. (There again after picking up compensation payments for Walter Smith and Alex McLeish maybe the SFA will be in a position to pay more?) Plus it means Martin O’Neill and McLeish can again fight it out for city supremacy!
Who to replace him? Billy Davies will get a mention and probably has a shot at it – the name Graeme Souness will get press. I’ll throw in a couple of names and profiles that might fit – Jim Jeffries, George Burley and Bruce Rioch. Craig Levein at Dundee United will get a mention (although too young in my opinion) and Jimmy Calderwood at Aberdeen might be a good fit.
Sleeper000 – Do you think Modric is going anywhere in the winter or if Dinamo might keep him until the summer? Knowing how the Dinamo board functions, he's probably gone in the winter. Also, what club do you think he might end up at?
Bobby – I try as a rule to avoid comment on transfer speculation. Too many unknowns. One more caution, Daily Mail=Anything for a Headline. Also Daily Mail gets around 0.0005% of their transfer stories right.
RINGO - Have you been surprised by the results of the junior clubs on their first entry into the Scottish FA Cup? And when do you expect to see Tayport taking part?
Bobby - It has taken a long time for the juniors to be allowed into the Scottish Cup but I am not surprised at how well they did in the early stages of the Cup.
Only Linlithgow Rose is left and we have to wait until later this week to see who they draw next. However, from what I have been told there will be more than a few teams hoping to avoid Linlithgow in the next round.
The best run junior clubs have always been a step ahead of some of the teams in the lower reaches of the Scottish Football League – as have some non-league clubs. The decision to allow junior clubs entry into the full SFA Cup came a little too late for Tayport as last season they had a relatively poor season – the first in a long time. I’m confident that they will make it to the SFA Cup sometime soon and it might even encourage me to take a trip back for the game.
Tintagel - So, Bobby, just what was Benitez thinking of with his comments on the owners? How about another tack? It was a cry for help. Benitez's heavy workload increased when he restructured the Academy, and he took oversight responsibilities, and he still has not replaced Ayesteran. When you are overworked, you try to force the issues to shorten the time necessary to carry it out properly to make it fit your overly heavy schedule. Hicks and Gillett would be much farther ahead to get him help, i.e. a replacement for Ayesteran. I should be Rick Parry's job to sell this to the owners, so I hope that he is up to it, for Liverpool's sake.
Bobby - Interesting observation. Another possibility is that the real problem is between Benitez and Parry. I believe Benitez had a feud going with the Director of Football while at Valencia and perhaps something similar has erupted.
Thanks to all the regular visitors and posters, your support and enthusiasm is remarkable. Also, thanks to other bloggers who linkthrough to this site.
Stuart James explains why teams may not be so keen to be in the group of top seeds alongside Austria at Euro 2008.
Gabriele Marcotti on Italy’s performance against Scotland. I found the Scottish press placing a bit to much emphasis on the awarding of the late free kick to the exclusion of some of the officials other decisions. I don't think the claims of victimization are credible when measured over the ninety minutes. It also masks the issue that although Scotland has made great progress there is still a roads to go.
Mark McGhee takes a look at former teammate Alex McLeish’s tactics and decisions.
An excerpt from a massive – and massively expensive – Arsenal book soon to be published.
How long will Steve Staunton remain in charge of the Republic of Ireland?
Last week just before an old-timers game one of my team mates posed the question - when is a volley actually a volley? His point was that commentators have taken to calling just about every shot a volley when clearly it is not. (Another mate jumped in on the subject of penalty kicks and how he is fed up hearing about the dot, going to the spot etc. when commentators only have to save the words penalty kick!) As chance would have it the Times ran an article about the volley subject two days later.
That got me thinking about my pet-peeves – it didn’t take much. I have a top four:
1. References to “footy” – it’s football, soccer or if you are, Italian, Calcio. The only two groups that are entitled to call it footy are kids under the age of 5 or Rugby playing public school boys who don’t know any better.
2. References to “mid” as in I play mid– what the hell is mid – midshipman, midriff! Apparently it’s a reference to midfield. Try saying midfield it doesn’t take that much longer.
3. Man Yoo – cringe!!! It is Manchester United or United – there is no such team as Man Yoo unless you are talking about the University of Manchester.
4. Right or left defense – no such position. An obvious indication that the person you are talking to or reading hasn't a clue.
Now that I have that off my chest are there any that drive you up the wall?
A new feature - Down Video Lane. Seeing that the Champions League proper gets going this week a European theme seems apprpriate. Here are the four goals scored by Ferenc Puskas in Real Madrid's 7-3 1960 European Cup Final win against Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park, Glasgow in front of 130,000 odd fans.
Excerpts from the Ference Puskas biography published in 1999.
As an aside, many of the obituaries that ran after the great man’s death contained an error or two. A number referenced his part in winning five consecutive European Cups with Real Madrid when in fact he did not sign for Madrid until the 1958/59 season. He was suspended for almost two years by UEFA after failing to return to Hungary after the 1956 Uprising. The other often misreported item was the reference to Hungary as the first foreign team to beat England at home. Hungary was the first foreign team to beat England at Wembley but the Republic of Ireland beat England in 1949 in an international game held in Liverpool at Goodison Park.
Alan Campbell on the debacle that is Heart of Midlothian and the de####able treatment of Captain Steven Pressley.
Gabriele Marcotti suggests a major revamp of domestic leagues outside of the present big 5.
David Bond says that a new owner for West Ham will be confirmed very soon.
Steven Morris writes about the smallest league in the world.
This is going to some week what with round 5 of the Champions League on Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a weekend that includes top-of-the-table action in Italy and England. Palermo plays Inter Milan and Chelsea will go to Old Trafford next Sunday for the biggest game of the Premiership season so far. More on Manchester United and Chelsea later this week.
henry14 - When l was looking in the group that England is in l have come to terms that Israel can spoil the party and England might be seen scrambling for dear life and now that they are allowed to play in Tel-Aviv, l see them going all the way. They have not lost in 13 internationals and last year they pushed France to the nail. If Croatia can defeat England l see them in hot trouble as they are in a very tricky group and this might be one hell of an upset. Mind you Liverpool were push to a greater extend by a good Maccabi Haifa side so they are a strong side in my opinion. How do you rate the Israelis?
djinima - Bobby, my question for you . . . and this may seem like a dumb one. . . but why is Israel in UEFA? When did they become a part of the body?
Bobby – Initially I discounted Israel, particularly given that they were banned from playing at home. That has now been rescinded. I thought Croatia and Russia would battle it out for second place with England qualifying as group winners. But now I can see how Israel could make it through to the finals. The biggest obstacle that they face is actually winning games and this is a situation where an unbeaten record is actually an impediment. They may be unbeaten in their last 13 qualifying games but seven have been drawn and they have only six wins. In fact if they had traded wins with France or the Republic of Ireland during WC 2006 qualifying instead of drawing, they would have made it to Germany.
Making yourself difficult to beat is one thing, but going out and winning games is something very much different. So although Israel has to receive a lot of respect for coming back seven times during the current unbeaten streak to gain points, they have yet to show that they can beat any of the big countries of Europe.
As for Israel’s place in UEFA - it is politics. Israel has jumped around a number of Federations – including being part of Oceania at one time! Wikipedia has a good rundown of the checkered history.
In the short term it makes it more difficult for Israel to qualify through UEFA but the upside is the standard of Israeli play is going to continue to rise given that the top club teams can also participate in the Uefa Champions League and Cup.
realmadridcffan - Even though it is very early, who do you think has been the biggest surprise and disappointment so far. For my biggest surprise, I would have to say Scotland. Never would I have thought they would win three in a row this early. My biggest disappointment is got to be Spain. They have played brutal thus far. The rate they are playing, they might not even make it to Euro 2008.
Bobby – I think if anyone had said that Scotland would be sitting with a 100% record after three games the barman would have cut them off. But it is early days and the situation could turnaround very quickly – a loss in Kiev against Ukraine, Georgia comes to Hampden in March and defends stubbornly then a trip to Italy and another loss is very possible. Nine points from 3 games in fantastic, but it could easily become ten points from 6 games and third place then becomes a more realistic goal.
I would agree that Spain has to be the biggest disappointment. The only silver lining to their dark cloud is that both their losses have been away from home. But with two losses already they do have their work cut out.
If you look at the UEFA 2006 World Cup qualifying groups, three required the countries to play 12 games (the same as six of the seven Euro qualifying groups), and the other five required 10 games each. Out of the eight WCQ group winners no country lost more than one game and five of them were unbeaten. Poland and Sweden went through as best runners-up after dropping six points each and both finished a massive 9 points ahead of the third place countries. The other countries that went into the WCQ play-offs dropped anywhere between 9 and 12 points.
You can then guess that to make it through Euro 2008 qualifying, countries should be aiming for between 24 and 27 points with it likely closer to 24. That means a country might be able to drop 12 points in 12 games and still make it through as one of the top two finishers. By dropping six points in their first three games Spain can now only afford two more losses or three draws (or a any combination) if they hope to stand a chance of progressing. That makes life very difficult and I think it shows how important a good start is to ultimate success.
AlexMorph - This is a question that has been in my mind for a long time, and I've discussed it with many to no certain conclusion. Why is it that England cannot control the ball AND attack simultaneously? If they go ahead against weak opposition then they do quite fine to shut them down and pass the ball back and forth, but eventually it will break down and the other team will spring on a quick break. England seemingly have no collective conscience as do teams like Argentina, Brazil, Arsenal, Barcelona, Lyon. Even with some of their more creative players (Joe Cole for example) the attack is more of a one-off flare and not a succession of intricate moves and innate understanding. Lyon is still a fluid team despite Houllier, so why can't England be one now that Eriksson is gone?
kirbym - AlexMorph makes a good point. Even England's victories are so often one-offs, saved by a miracle free kick, an own goal, etc., while the pundits say "They haven't quite gotten started yet," etc. They struggle rather than flow. It goes together with a lucklessness that goes back decades, showing up most often against Latin/Mediterranean teams and in penalty shootouts. Tinkering with lineups and formations doesn't go deep enough--it's something fundamental in their approach that's missing. The spirit is always there: They "go down fighting" but they do go down, unable to string together a real attack when needed. I'll also be interested in hearing Bobby's thoughts on this.
CIAO - I too think England has a great pool of players (minus the keepers) to select from. However, I can see two issues: 1. Most British players remain in England and are not exposed to European football or at the international level; and 2. the game is different in the EPL than in any other league and it takes the national team players some adapting for the international level...
I think the Lampard-Gerrard combo has been tested and it failed. Lampard and Gerrard can't seem to catch the same level they perform with their clubs on the national team -so isn't it time to look at other alternatives? Such as implementing either Lennon or SWP to the right wing. I think the national coach needs to consider that SWP should still be in consideration for a spot given that at Chelsea he is fighting for a spot to play with likes of Lampard, Ballack, Makelele, Robben and the list goes on... Hargreaves and/or Parker as the holding midfielders. How about pushing Ashley Cole up to left wing midfield while Joe Cole is out injured... Which leaves a spot behind two strikers for either Lampard or Gerrard -a little friendly competition never hurt anyone. It's time to go back to basics...
To debate this topic properly would take a very long time. For what it is worth I think it is mainly down to technique. I remember a long time ago reading that after some initial success Nick Faldo completely rebuilt his swing because he believed his technique that had brought some success would not stand up to the pressure that he would face if he wanted to be the best in the world. He needed to work on a honing his technique to the stage that when he was under intense pressure his swing would not break down and essentially muscle memory would take over. (I read a not dissimilar piece that suggested that the reason Greg Norman failed so often in the majors was that although he had incredible natural talent his technique was flawed and under pressure this flaw was magnified.)
The point I am trying to make is that British players generally are less technically gifted than players from what we consider to be the top continental countries. They generally fail to perfect things like first touch.
The value British fans place on effort over skill compounds the problem. When was the last time you heard an English fan complain that his club just didn’t have enough good players? It doesn’t happen very often. Normally it is put down to lack of effort and the players just not wanting it enough. I don’t think you can be successful in football without effort and organization but at the top level it is not going to be enough on a regular basis if your players are devoid of some basic skills.
The best book I have read lately on the subject is “The Italian Job” by Gianluca Vialli and Gabrielle Marcotti. The book looks at how the game has developed in Italy and England and looks at the some of the reasons why things are the way that they are. It also challenges some of the conventional wisdom and stereotypes that are trotted out on a regular basis. It includes some great insight from the likes of Mourinho, Ferguson, Capello, Lippi and Wenger.
Venti_vidi_vici - I feel that in group format, the object is to do better than your main rivals. Croatia and Russia are England’s main rivals in the group, and they cannot afford to slip up against either; all three teams expect to qualify. If they must have a no-show, better to do it last Saturday, and then come up with a positive result against Croatia. Basically Wednesday’s match is a good old fashioned 6 pointer.
Also, if Scotland is now seriously thinking about qualifying, their match in Kiev is another 6 pointer, because down the stretch it’ll be a four-way battle for two spots (and they know that there is not room for both of them in the top two). Just like in the domestic leagues, teams have to get results against their main challengers, and equally important, shoot par against the rest.
Although it is so difficult to gain any sort of momentum in these group matches (because of the drawn out schedule), can Scotland carry their high into Kiev and come away with something on Wednesday?
Bobby – Well we will find out in a few hours. The six pointer comment is spot on and it reinforces how important it is to get full points off the lower teams. If you can get full points and your qualifying rivals stumble it places pressure on your rival in the head-to-head encounters forcing them more often than not to push for a win. Perhaps the simple formula is Max points at home + max points versus minnows = Euro 2008 Finals – easily stated but not so easy to achieve!
bigdavedisaster - I am a young man but to me that is the worst loss in the history off modern Irish football. Why is the FAI still backing Staunton? My only hope is that the 3 goal loss to Cyprus....Cyprus!! is rock bottom and we can only move forward from here. I have always thought that Ireland has been able to rise to the challenge when playing the great teams of the world and tends to play down to other "lesser" competition but this is something completely different. It’s an embarrassment plain and simple and I don’t think Staunton is the man to right this ship.
Bobby – I was surprised when the FAI hired Staunton given his lack of managerial experience. It would have made more sense to have Sir Bobby Robson in charge with Staunton as the heir apparent. However, with Sir Bobby’s illness it would have made little difference. You look at the line-up and there were some very good players starting for Ireland so that isn’t an excuse. The game against the Czech Republic today is a must win. Otherwise Ireland will be sitting with 8 or 9 points dropped with only three games gone and they will never catch Germany, the Czech Republic or perhaps even Slovakia.
I think Staunton is done even if Ireland beats the Czechs. It was a boneheaded move by the FAI.
ascoli - You put it well when you point out that England has yet to learn from its lessons. It is a good team with good players, but they all need to just relax and keep perspective. Congratulations on Scotland's big win. I would have loved to have seen that game. Were the ball boys as much a factor as the French Coach claimed?
Bobby – As I watched the game I was concerned that the ball boys were returning the balls too quickly. I read an interesting piece that said that Craig Brown a former Scotland manager had mentioned to Wattie Smith that the “ball boys” at the France – Italy game in Paris in September were considerably older than the ones you would normally see. The point was that France wanted to play a high-tempo game and wanted the ball back in play quickly hence the more mature ball retrievers. If the story is true then Domenech might have a point – even it is one that makes him sound a bit silly. The French had their chances and they didn’t take them. I don’t see how that could be the fault of the ball-boys.
Keir Radnedge apportions the blame for card happy referees to where it belongs - FIFA.
Larry Rohter writes in the New York Times about Brazil’s politics and football.
This Globe and Mail article takes up the issue of a two referee system.
The UEFA website takes a look at Ukraine's Artem Milevskiy, the cheeky chappy who took the second penalty kick. The first player I remember pulling this stunt was Antonín Panenka with the winning penalty for Czechoslovakia against West Germany in the1976 European Championship Final.
Tony Cascarino writes about his first-hand experience of taking peanlties in a penalty shoot out at the World Cup Finals for the Republic of Ireland.
It is always a temptation to project the present into the future and the history of the World Cup is littered with countries that treated the tournament as a sprint rather than a very quick middle distance race – league championships are marathons.
So although much of the hot money may have moved in the direction of Argentina, in particular, and Spain, it may not be worth considering some of the other countries who have had the look of Champion-in-waiting over the last half century or so, only to flounder.
1954 – Hungary won their first four games and scored an amazing 25 goals while only conceding 7. One of those wins was 8-3 over West Germany and they met again in the Final. Hungary led 2-0 but West Germany came back to score three in what become known as “The Miracle of Berne.”
1974 – A Johan Cruyff inspired Netherlands won five and drew one while destroying some good teams in the process. They scored from a penalty kick awarded in the first minute of the Final but eventually lost 2-1 to West Germany.
1982 – The best Brazil team since 1970 won their first four games convincingly before a Paulo Rossi hat trick saw them off.
1986 – Denmark won all three games in the “Group of Death” but disintegrated in losing 5-1 to Spain in the first knockout round.
2002 – Spain took a 100% record into the last sixteen and then defeated the Republic of Ireland on penalties. However, the quarterfinal was the end of the road as they lost to South Korea.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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