Final Preview Germany vs. Spain A simplistic view might profess that we have two countries coming at Sunday’s final from two very different perspectives. While Germany will look to embrace their football history, Spain will be fighting to overcome theirs.
But, as with many things, the simple view fails to consider the many subtleties at play. For, if Spain is the great under-achiever of European football, then Germany (and the former West Germany) must be the great over-achiever. That may strike some as a strange comment when a scan of the World Cup and European Championship record books show Germany as a six-times winner; runners-up on another six occasions and beaten semi-finalists four times.
When you include Sunday’s final it all adds up to reaching the final four seventeen times from a possible twenty-seven tournaments. And although there have been some outstanding German sides (1970-76 era being a stand out) there are a number of editions that, if described as average, it would be overly generous. It has been the habit of average German teams making it to the latter stages of major tournaments that fits the description of overachievers.
In Germany a side lacking top class talent in all positions isn’t an excuse for failure at the international level. Build a team around what you have, stay organized, wait for the breaks and always fight to the end even though on occasion it may be a bitter one.
And what Germany has had over the last half century or so has been at least one world class player around whom a competitive side could be built. From Fritz Walter to Uwe Seeler, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Mueller, Gunter Netzer, Bernd Schuster, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Mattheus, Jurgen Klinsmann, Mattias Sammer, Steffan Effenberg the mantle was passed until it reached Michael Ballack at the beginning of this decade.
All the German greats with the exception of Uwe Seeler won a major international and/or club trophy during their careers. Sunday may be one of the last chances for Michael Ballack to join them. And nobody is more aware of the need to win a major competition than Ballack. Before the Champions League Final he said, “People remember the trophies you win, not the quarter-finals or the semi-finals.”
He might have added finals as well. In 2002 while with Bayer Leverkusen they lost in the German Cup Final, the Champions League Final and completed a horrible treble by blowing a significant lead in the Bundesliga. Then only a few weeks later Ballack had to undergo the anguish of sitting out the World Cup Final against Brazil after picking up a suspension for bookings. Ironically without Ballack it is doubtful whether a poor German side would have made it to the final match.
After moving to Bayern Munich Ballack never got past the last eight in the Champions League and at the 2006 World Cup Germany lost 2-0 to Italy after the semi final went to extra time. This past season another case of “close but no cigar” with a penalty shoot loss to Manchester United in the Champions League Final in Moscow.
Whether or not Ballack can finally hold aloft a major trophy come the final whistle on Sunday will largely depend on his own performance and that of Torsten Frings. No matter if Joachim Lowe opts to play 4-4-2 with Ballack and Frings centering the midfield four or a 4-2-3-1 (more likely) with Frings offering cover as part of a defensive pairing behind Ballack , Podolski and Schweinsteiger the problem that German must solve is how to disrupt Spain’s rhythm.
Eyebrows may have been raised when Luis Aragones replaced David Villa with Cesc Fabregas (midfielder for a striker) but it turned out to be an inspired tactical change that only served to to solidify Spain’s solid start to the semifinal.
With Marcos Senna providing the defensive cover the midfield foursome of Iniesta, Xavi, Silva and Fabregas were free to dictate the pace and tempo of the game. Russia had no answer. If Germany is to win the final they have to control the midfield and that involves closing down space and shutting down passing lanes. If they don’t it will be a new reign for Spain and their first international trophy for 44 years. If Germany does it will be one more example of why you should never under estimate an over-achiever.
Comments of the Day "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win," - former England forward and now BBC presenter Gary Lineker.
“Sure, it’s going to be easy for us; all we have to do is to beat Sweden who historically have better results than us, down Greece who are the reigning champions and then Russia and all that will be easy,” – Luis Aragones before the group stage.
Stat Facts 1. Spain is unbeaten in 21 matches (18 wins and three draws) since losing to Romania in November 2006. The Spanish record is 31 matches. 2. Aragones is the oldest coach to lead a team to a European Championship Final. He is 69 years and 337 days old on Sunday. 3. We have already seen 19 goals in the knock stage, that number blows away the 13 goals we were limited to four years ago. 4. Germany has scored six goals in the quarter and semi final games; all six goals have come from crosses delivered or moves started on the left side.
I try to answer as many questions as possible but I know that I have missed a number over the last few days. As much as I would like to sit and blog most of the day, time is a problem and I am afraid that it is just not possible to answer every query that is posted.
UEFA World Cup Qualifying Another off day at the European Championships and an opportunity to look ahead at World Cup qualifying in Europe that will get underway in less than eight weeks when Kazakhstan plays Andorra. The bulk of the game day one fixtures go on September 6.
There are eight groups of six countries and one of five. The group winners will qualify for the finals. The eight best runners-up will be qualify for a play-off round in which there will be four two-leg ties and the winners will qualify to play in South Africa in 2010.
In deciding the best runners up spots the eight groups of six will not have the results against the countries finishing bottom counted.
Group 1 Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania and Malta
Group 2 Switzerland, Greece, Israel, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg
Group 3 Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia and San Marino
Group 4 Germany, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Wales, Finland and Russia
Group 5 Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Armenia and Estonia
Group 6 Croatia, England, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra
Group 7 France, Romania, Serbia, Austria, Lithuania and Faroe Islands
Group 8 Italy, Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro
Group 9 Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, Macedonia FYR, and Iceland
Based on what you have seen over the last three weeks has your views changed on who might qualify from Europe?
Prediction Update We are down to only two possible winners. LHJS currently has 36 points and Geniusatwork has 34 points. With ten points available to the tournament winner it comes down to Germany (LHJS) or Spain (Geniusatwork).
Whoever gets it wrong will drop down the standings as there are a significant number of people sitting with figures in the low 30s and with either Spain or Germany to win.
The unofficial prediction rabbit Carlos has fallen to the folly of allowing his heart to rule is head. He picked Portugal to beat Spain in the final and so he has stalled out at 42 points.
Comment of the Day “WSC statisticians are also compiling a report on behalf of a secretive but influential global organisation that we are not at liberty to name. Findings include: Simone Perotta's birth in Ashton-under-Lyne has been mentioned a total of 15 times by the two TV channels and national radio; the local TV directors have missed live action while running a slow motion replay 23 times; the BBC panel have offered truisms disguised as analysis on 65 occasions; Alan Shearer has appended “for me” to his half-time comments on 19 occasions, conclusively establishing that the views expressed are his alone rather than those of the entire BBC production team in Vienna, or Geordies everywhere.” – When Saturday Comes on television coverage in the UK.
Stat Fact The highest scoring European Championship final was in 1976 when Czechoslovakia and West Germany drew 2-2. In the penalty shoot-out Uli Hoeness’ spot kick cleared the crossbar with room to spare and then Antonin Panenka chipped the winner down the middle as Sepp Maier anticipated a shot to the corner.
True or False Uli Hoeness was the last German player to miss a penalty in a shoot-out at a major international championship?
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.
Another break day and so an opportunity to answer some questions.
Danielgregg – Something I've noticed about this tournament, don't recall if it's something unique or not: there've been so many records broken. Croatia broke some kind of record when they beat Germany, Turkey broke their record against the Czechs, the Dutch beat their 30-year record against Italy, and Italy beat their 30-year record against France, and now Spain banished their longstanding record against not only Italy, but their June 22 jinx.
You probably don't put too much store in these records. I just think it's been interesting to see so many games one after another with pundits pointing out these records before almost every game, and then they go and promptly break them--so consistently.
Bobby – There have been a good number of these instances. I think it would need a statistician to provide more intelligent comment. But you also have to consider that international match ups don’t happen every year or sometimes even every second year and so extended records of 20 or 30 years may only be less than a dozen games. Something that happens in domestic league leagues
LHJS - I hope one day the America's can combine to form a great tournament like EURO's. 8 groups, 5 or 6 teams per group, winner and second place team gets an invite. Every country between Chile and Canada would have a chance. I think it would be great fun for all soccer fans. A nightmare for police but still as we see on TV it could be great.
Bobby – This is something that comes up on a pretty regular basis. I can’t see either Federation amalgamating for the purposes of World Cup qualifying but maybe there is just a small chance that they could get together for a regional championship.
Here is a précis of an article I wrote for “WSC – When Saturday Comes” back in April 2002 just after the Gold Cup of that year.
“……The more astute readers will have noticed that South Korea and Ecuador are not Central American, North American or Caribbean counties. Since it’s inception in 1991 the Gold Cup has invited guest teams to compete, not something that lends credibility to the competition. It’s simple: when you invite outside teams to enter a regional championship it’s no longer a regional championship.
Can anyone imagine the European Championship inviting Brazil, Argentina and Cameroon to fly in for a game or two? In the past we’ve seen Peru, Colombia and Brazil turn up along with South Korea and Ecuador. To date no guest has won the Cup but two have reached the Final.
This time around only Mexico drew well in the early stages and after they lost in the quarter final to South Korea, average attendance dropped dramatically. Despite the USA reaching the final where they beat Costa Rica 2-0, the last four games in the competition attracted less than 22,000 fans. Cup organizers were quick to point out that the Cup was up against the National Hockey League all-star game and the Superbowl weekend. It begs the question - why would you schedule the Gold Cup against these events in the first place?
The problems facing the Gold Cup are strikingly similar to those facing CONMEBOL and the Copa America. Copa America with the ten member countries of CONMEBOL has to invite two guest countries in order to get to a workable number. Honduras, Mexico, Japan, the USA and Costa Rica have all taken part in the Copa in recent years. There is, however, a solution – the Pan American Cup.
Never heard of it you say? That’s because it’s time to drop both the Copa America and the Gold Cup and start a new sixteen team tournament to be held once every four years with no guest teams.
To ease fixture congestion the tournament could be scheduled just before or just after the European Championship. A Pan American Cup makes sense for everyone, including the long suffering fans.
From a CONCACAF prospective it gives their member countries the badly needed challenge of better opponents. The participation of Brazil and Argentina would increase television revenue in the US and generate greater media exposure throughout North America.
With the imminent demise of the ill fated and vastly unpopular Confederations Cup the need to identify regional champions no longer exists. If the Pan American Cup could live up to half of its potential, the qualifying competitions would generate interest.
By holding the tournament two years after the World Cup, qualification standings in each confederation could form the basis of awarding automatic spots in the Pan American Cup, perhaps the top five finishers in each. As tradition dictates, the previous winner would get a bye along with the host country.
With four spots remaining, three could come from a Central and South American qualifying competition while the remaining spot would be from a North America and Caribbean tournament.
Is there hope that CONMEBOL and CONCACAF would give up some of their power and merge the two troubled competitions? From a CONCACAF prospective they run a competition of no value, so they have little to lose by making a move. CONMEBOL’s view is likely to be different given the Copa America is the oldest international tournament in the world.
However, FIFA has already told the South Americans that an eighteen game World Cup qualifying competition can’t continue if the Copa America is held every two years. The South American qualifying group generates tremendous interest and a great deal of money.
It’s not something the CONMEBOL countries want to lose so the status quo may not be an option. The alternatives are changing the Copa America to a four year format or make a bold move and go for a Pan American Cup.”
Shmish - What's your take on the criticisms that are being leveled on coaches such as MVB and Donadoni? It's predictable that Aragones or Loew will also be condemned by media and bloggers. I think all of these men seem to have done a good job, but I'm not a soccer analyst.
Whether a team is outplayed or outcoached, do we always have to point fingers at the coaches? Surely as Bobby suggests, we should pay attention and offer praise to the winners, when praise is due. One man's or team's success doesn't necessarily equate to another's failure.
Bobby – When a team loses the coach more times than not becomes a lightning rod for criticism. At club level there is almost always a game coming within a week or so and the coach and team have an escape route. That’s rarely the case at international level with friendlies and competition spread out.
Coaches know the “rules” when they sign on as unfair as they may be. But each defeat produces knee-jerk reactions from the fans and the media and the pressure builds on the national associations for a change to be made. Without having lived through it I doubt many of us can truly understand the constant pressure that coaches all operate under.
So much of it comes down to managing expectations going in, unfortunately as fans most of us have expectations that are unrealistic. I’m waiting for the day when a fan admits he would have picked a different team than the one the coach did and because the team won its obvious the coach knows what he’s doing and has not lost the plot!
Terry 63 - Hey Bobby, we're missing the Tartan Army at these major tourneys. Start checking the census rolls to see if there are any Scots with Brazilian grandmothers. Of course...I meant to say Brazilians with *Scottish* grandmas! But either way couldn't hurt.
Bobby – At least Scotland has shown some improvement over the last couple years. Under Berti Vogts a team made up of Brazilian grandmothers might have been a better option. That’s what you meant wasn’t it?
ZUCO2 - I was watching the FSR yesterday and I heard Derek say that there was 9 minutes of added time in a qualifying game in Asia. Shouldn't FIFA have a rule that allows referees to give a certain amount of stoppage time? A sort of limit that shouldn't be broken?
Bobby – So what you do in the situation where there was a serious injury and possibly even a couple of serious injuries? Or the game is delayed because of a streaker? It is up to the referee to judge how much stoppage time should be played I don’t see any benefit by capping it – and in fact I think the opposite is true, it would lead to more abuse.
Exponents - Bobby, off topic, but let's say the USMNT needed a new coach (I think you'll agree that they do)...who should they try to get? Of course this begs the question of who would actually want to coach the USMNT.
Bobby – No, I actually don’t agree. To date Bradley has won the only competition the United States has entered since he became coach (Gold Cup) so why would you be looking to replace him?
Rowdies33 - I haven't seen much heat on Van Basten for his tactics during the game. RVP played on the right flank where he has played before in this tourney, but he was always looking for the cutback and Heitinga wasn't getting forward so there was no width on the right and then by not bringing Robben in on the left there was no presence going forward on the left to stretch the field.
Given the difficulties of set pieces for the Russian defense, wouldn't crosses from wide positions have likely given them problems? Of course, the Russians dominated the play and perhaps nothing changes, but it seemed like the Dutch offense was basically using 1/2-3/4 of the width of the field making the Russians defensive pressure much easier to employ. Thoughts?
Bobby – It might be a bit pointless turning up the heat up on van Baston given that we all knew he was finished with the Netherlands after this tournament. You do make valid points however.
But the problems that the Russians were experiencing from set pieces were coming from in swinging free kicks on the left. Robbin would be delivering more conventional out swinging crosses with his left foot so I’m not sure the two would necessarily be connected. I was surprised that the Dutch did not try and force the Russian full backs to defend more and instead allowed them to attack almost at will.
I think the brilliance of Hiddink’s strategy was to counter the counterattack by pinning the Dutch so deep and not giving them time on the ball that they are unable to use the counterattack tactic that had been so lethal in the group stage.
LHJS - I almost forgot, Bobby did I catch Carlos?
Bobby –Carlos picked up nine points in the quarterfinal round and has 37 points. However, he only has one team left and that is Spain. He has Spain down as beaten finalists.
RINGO - Do those who predicted the third place game lose points?
Bobby – No, they just have to suffer the public embarrassment of adding games that don’t exist.
Comment of the Day
“I bumped into Howard Webb, the English referee, at Zurich Airport last Friday. He was on his way back to Manchester, having not been retained for the knockout stages of Euro 2008, after his controversial decision in the final minutes of the match between Austria and Poland. Webb was no different to a lot of other Englishmen at leading tournaments, really, in that he was eliminated by penalties.” - Martin Samuel in The Times.
Stat of the Day 1: Number of the past 52 goals in the tournament to have come from a defender — Christian Panucci - From Bill Edgar of The Times.
After sixteen straight days of football we have a two-day break before the semifinals get underway. A chance perhaps to indulge in some observations?
In terms of entertainment and quality this edition of the European Championships far exceeds what was on show four years ago. It’s on par with 2000 but the latter stages of the tournament in Netherlands and Belgium had two fantastic extra time games and one that was not unlike the Spain and Italy (except this time Italy supposedly played with 11 men for the full 120 minutes) game yesterday. The last three games of Euro 2008 will decide where it will ultimately sit in the list of great tournaments.
And that partially segues to the fallout from the last quarterfinal match. Contrasting the column inches and tone of blog posts emanating from North America dedicated to Russia versus Netherlands against Italy versus Spain makes interesting reading and may give an indication of how far the game still has to go in these parts.
It seems to me that more effort has been dedicated to trashing the Italy - Spain game than celebrating and reveling in the quality of the play and the spectacle that was Russia versus the Netherlands.
There are far too many posters and writers overly concerned about the reaction from non-soccer fans and sportswriters in North America. It is if a multitude of North American soccer fans/bloggers/posters decided after yesterday’s game to strap on the cilices and whip themselves bloody before the soccer-haters of North America even had a chance to mobilize.
It is a reaction of a bullied child that would opt to inflict self administered pain rather than allowing the bully the pleasure. It is also the reaction that does nothing to grow the game in North America. It was a poor game yesterday - you get them from time to time and not only in soccer. That’s just the way it is and self-flagellation isn’t going to change anything.
Celebrate the great, praise the beautiful, rejoice that on occasion we get to enjoy 120 minutes of footballing heaven the likes of which we were privileged to see on Saturday. No one every grew anything worthwhile by wallowing in the negative and when you respond to soccer-haters gripes all you are doing at best is reinforcing the darkside. At worst it runs the risk of becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy.
As group winners Portugal, Croatia and Netherlands fell at the first knockout stage you could hear a rising crescendo of “it’s not fair.” Perhaps it’s not fair, but there is nothing that grants a right to go on and win a tournament just because a team starts well.
Tournament play is about pacing, peaking at the right time and taking advantage of the breaks when they come your way. You don’t get bonus points for artistic impression, going unbeaten in the group stage or even qualifying after only two games.
You only have to glance at the history of major tournaments such as the World Cup and the European Championships to see how difficult it is to lead from start to finish (as it is in any competition in any sport). Now and again a country will come along and be able to pull off such a remarkable achievement.
Performances by the likes of Brazil in 1958 and 1970, and France in 1984 are extremely unusual and it is easier to find examples of teams burning intensely in the early stages but flaming out spectacularly while failing to reach their overall goal.
Hungary (1954), Netherlands (1974), Italy (1978), Denmark (1986), Spain multiple times, and the daddy of them all Brazil in 1982 played memorable football in the early going only to fail in the later stages.
Comment(s) of the Day “Previously, Daneiele de Rossi and Alessandro Di Natale had failed for Italy, while Daniel Guiza, of Italy, also had his effort saved.” –Kevin McCarra in the Guardian.
Now that I have seen that it can happen to the best I don’t feel so bad about Fernando Cannavaro!
It was later corrected to read - “Previously Daniele de Rossi and Alessandro Di Natale had failed for Italy, while Daniel Güiza, of Spain, also had his effort saved,” but as of this morning Antonio was still being referred to as Alessandro.
“European football has been at a crossroads for some time but the dull, negative style that won the championship for Greece four years ago – and let's be honest propelled Rangers to the UEFA Cup Final and to a lesser extent served Scotland well in their qualifying group – has been found wanting in the face of a new dawn.
Manchester United showed the way at club level by winning in Moscow and at least four of the quarter-finalists in the current tournament have also seen the light. If ever a tournament has rekindled our enthusiasm for the beautiful game and provided a hopeful vision of the future, this has been it. If we are honest, we must also admit that this vision has been helped by the fact that the home nations were not there to cloud the view.” – Pat Nevin in the Scotsman on Sunday.
Prediction Update With three games to go here is a list of the top fifteen. *Indicates no countries left.
Netherlands Antilles 0-1 Haiti Haiti wins 1-0 on aggregate.
Cuba 4-0 Antigua and Barbuda Cuba wins 8-3 on aggregate.
Guyana 1-2 Suriname Suriname wins 3-1 on aggregate.
Barbados 0-1 United States United States win 9-0 on aggregate.
Costa Rica 3-0 Grenada Costa Rica wins 5-2 on aggregate.
Mexico 7-0 Belize Mexico wins 9-0 on aggregate.
St. Lucia 1-3 Guatemala Guatemala wins 9-1 on aggregate.
Canada 4-1 St Vincent & Grenadines Canada wins 7-1 on aggregate.
You can find the make-up of the groups for the next stage by following the link.
It is poorly laid out but it is supposed to indicate three groups of four with the the top two moving onto a final group round. The top three will qualify and the fourth place side finisher will play-off against the fifth team from South America.
Quarter Final Netherlands vs. Russia Preview - Guus Hiddink is looking to continue his fantastic run at major tournaments. He took the Netherlands and South Korea to the last four at World Cups in 1998 and 2002 and Australia to the last sixteen two summers ago in Germany. If he can take his young Russian side to the last four at Euro 2008 it will be a match for any of his previous achievements.
To reach the semi final Russia has to beat the Netherlands and players that Hiddink has more than a passing knowledge of. The teams have reached this stage in very different ways but both could be regarded as surprises based on their preliminary qualifying performances.
Russia seemed to have lost their chance when they lost away to Israel after hitting the post late in the game and then conceding a devastating winner to Israel only seconds later. They were left having to beat Andorra in their last game and praying for a win by Croatia at Wembley.
Despite having already qualified Croatia did beat England and Russia stumbled to a 1-0 win against tiny Andorra. Eighteen goals in twelve games was not overly impressive considering that the group included the likes of Andorra and Estonia. First and third place Croatia and England scored considerably more goals.
The Netherlands qualified as runners up to Romania and only a point ahead of Bulgaria. However, the one point gap is not a fair reflection of the degree of difficulty as the Dutch wrapped up a qualifying spot with two games to go.
But a lacks of goals was a common connection between Russia and Netherlands. The Dutch only scored fifteen goals in 12 games and struggled to 1-0 wins over Luxembourg twice.
There was no hint of the type of football we have seen over the last two weeks from either of these sides. Goals have flowed from the Dutch through devastating counter attacks executed at speed combined with lethal finishing.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has led the attack magnificently while Sneijder and van der Vaart who have generally operated just behind him have both enjoyed spectacular tournaments.
The defense has confounded critics having only conceded one goal to date. Based on their three performances and pedigree the Dutch come into this game as strong favourites.
Few would have thought that Russia would be in this position after an opening game loss to Spain. But the 4-1 scoreline was not a fair reflection of the play. Russia was severely punished (particularly by David Villa) for some sloppy defensive play while they were unable to take advantage of some less than stellar defending by Spain. In truth the game could have finished 5-3 or 5-4.
Since then Hiddink has tinkered with his back four (or back two as the full backs push forward) but has remained commited to Russia playing an aggressive, attacking and entertaining form of football. The return of Arshavin for the third game against Swede and his performance garnered the headlines but there were a number of other fine performances that day that bode well for the fixture against Netherlands.
Denis Kolodin has settled down at the centre of the Russian defence after a disasterous start against Spain. Zhirkov playing has a left back (he can play anyplace on the left side) is a fantastic player to watch while the other full back Anyukov seems to spend more time in the opposition penalty area than his own. In midfield Semak, Zyryanov and Bilyaletdinov have all caught the eye.
However, Russia does seem to missing a reliable striker. Roman Pavlyuchenko came on to score twice against England in Moscow and has scored twice at Euro 2008 but he does not score enough given the chances that come his way.
Referee: Lubos Michel, assistants: Roman Slysko, Martin Balko (all Slovakia), fourth official: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
Netherland 1-3 Russia (After extra time) I know it’s not new or original but I’m going to say it anyway “the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.” And in the process they are playing some fantastic football. We got to see an additional 30 minutes of it today but in truth Russia was so far ahead of the Netherlands that it should not have needed extra time.
The Dutch that had being so lethal in the group stage was blunted by a Russian midfield of Zyryanov, Semak and Semshov but this performance had nothing to do with negating Dutch strengths. It was about Russia playing to their own strengths.
And their strengths where a pleasure to behold. No frightened through football here. Composure on the ball, constantly working hard to provide an option to teammates in possession, beautifully timed runs and craftily struck passes. It was all on display and you were left wanting more. The only thing that was missing was a ruthless streak in front of goal during the first 90 minutes.
Russia took the initiative right from the kickoff and had the Netherlands on the back foot for most of the first half. It to the Dutch almost half an hour to mount any kind of sustained pressure and ironically it nearly cost them a goal. Russia was able to counter attack and the end result was a magnificent save by Edwin van der Sar from an Andrei Arshavin (does he remind anyone else of Michael Ladrup?) shot. The Dutch goalkeeper was called into action again shortly after and made another fine save this time after a long-range effort from center back Kolodin.
As half time drew near there was some encouragement for Dutch fans as Russia started togive away the ball more frequently. Nevertheless half time arrived without a goal. But within 10 minutes of the restart Russia was a goal up. Russia had been relentless in attacking down the left side and this time the ball was fed out to Semak alone on the left wing.
He swung in an inviting cross and Pavlyuchenko timed his run beautifully to beat the Dutch marker and Russia was a goal up. The Dutch were forced to push forward but Russia looked like the team more likely to score on the counter. But despite numerous chances and as the game appeared to to be entering the closing stages there was still only a one goal separating the teams.
The most consistent threat from the Netherlands had come from set pieces and from a free kick out on the left side they scored the goal that forced extra time. A deliciously inviting cross from Sneijder was swung in, Ignashevich was caught on the wrong side of Ruud van Nistelrooy and the Real Madrid striker stooped low to head home.
It was a goal that must’ve brought contradictory feelings to the neutrals watching. On one hand a Russian win that was truly deserved had been hauled from their grasp; conversely we had another 30 minutes of wonderful football to look forward to.
In the past Russian teams would have folded in the face of such adversity and injustice but not this one. They continued to dominate the extra 30 minutes and not surprisingly it was Arshavin who finally killed the Netherlands off.
He set up the winner for substitute Torbinski and then administered the coup de grace as he drilled the ball through the legs of Edwin van der Sar. A deserved win for Russia and the Netherlands again prove the early accolades to be premature.
Note: As the media jump on the Arshavin bandwagon regular readers of the blog will not be surprised at his impact. Back in the fall(?) I think it was craigy_f who first brought him to everyone’s attention when Zenit St. Petersburg played Everton in the UEFA Cup.
Comment of the Day “Much has been made of Van Basten's Holland rediscovering the joys of total football, but that is misleading. Yes, they are fluid and good to watch, but they are a more direct, counter-attacking side than their forebears of 30 years ago. Russia, arguably, given their commitment to attack, are rather closer in ethos to Michels' side, but the resemblance is largely superficial.
For one thing, neither side operates with a libero; for another, neither plays in the 4-3-3 (or, more accurately, 1-3-3-3) shape Johan Cruyff always insisted was essential for total football.
The context, equally, is very different. Part of the reason for the impact of Michels' and Lobaonvskyi's sides were that they were pressing and playing an aggressive offside trap in an era when nobody else was.
Everybody presses now. In their commitment to fluidity Russia and the Netherlands can probably claim to play a form of the game as close to total football as is possible in the modern age, but it should not be forgotten that for Russia that means pursuing their own tradition as much as adapting their approach to suit the heritage of their manager.” – Jonathan Wilson.
Prediction Update Not many picked Turkey while a good number of you had Croatia reaching the semi final. I have a feeling that the prediction league is going to be very close at the conclusion of the quarter finals.
Preview – Germany was my pre-tournament pick to win it all. Apart from a solid and sometimes impressive performance against Poland in their opening game this German team has failed to reach nights of the team of two summers ago.
Even though German coach Joachim Löw will be able to watch today’s game from the good seats he has more to worry about than the seating arrangements.
His team has a number of doubts with the injury to Torsten Frings the most pressing concern. Without Frings the German midfield will need to be shuffled with Ballack perhaps being asked to play deeper than usual. Either way the Germans need to find and execute a plan to contain Deco.
The biggest concern to Portugal might be Germany’s threat at set pieces. Carvalho and Pepe have been strangely hesitant on some cross balls in earlier games and that might be something Germany can exploit.
I’m not going to switch horses (better to be wrong once than wrong twice!) at this stage but would willingly concede that if Germany beat Portugal today it will run counter to the form book.
Misses next match if booked:
Portugal - Jose Bosingwa, Miguel, Jorge Ribeiro, Paulo Ferreira and Fernando Meira.
Germany - Michael Ballack and Jens Lehmann.
Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt, linesmen: Stefan Wittberg, Henrik Andren (all Sweden), fourth official: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
Match Report Portugal 2-3 Germany
If you’re looking for an example of why group form doesn’t mean very much when it gets down to the knockouts stage here was a great example. Germany overcame an indifferent start to the tournament and knocked out a Portuguese side that was favored to move into the last four.
Joachim Low overcame the loss of Torsten Frings to injury by matching Portugal’s 4-2-3-1 formation. Hitzlsperger and the thoroughly impressive Rolfes took care of the defensive midfield duties which allowed Michael Ballack to support the lone striker Miroslav Klose while playing between Schweinsteiger on the right and Podolski on the left.
The move by the German coach seemed to take Portugal by surprise as they struggled in the early going to control Ballock.
The first of the five goals came after a surging run from Podolski. He held off Bosingwa (great going forward but looks very dodgy defending) and he created enough space to slide a cross to the onrushing Schweinsteiger who had lost his marker Ferreira.
Within minutes Germany was two goals to the good when Portugal got their marking all wrong at a free kick. While Portuguese markers focused on Ballack and were then distracted by a great dummy run from Rolfes, Klose was left all alone to hit home. But even then there were few signs that the scoring had finished.
Portugal was finding it far too easy to find teammates with passes and they had lots of space to operate in. More goals just had to come and another did just before of half time. Ronaldo found space behind the German back four and although Lehmann made a good save Nuno Gomes knocked a loose ball into the net.
As the second half got underway it seemed to be only a matter of time before Portugal would equalize and perhaps even to go on and win the game. But too often the final ball into the penalty box or the shot on goal was poor.
Ultimately it was another free kick that was to be Portugal’s undoing. It was almost identical to Germany’s second goal and again the Portuguese defense was culpable in their marking… or lack of. This time the cross reached Ballack and goalkeeper Ricardo was caught in no man’s land as the ball rolled into the net.
However, it was not to be a worry free last 30 minutes for German fans (and for those of us who have picked Germany in prediction pools!!). Between while dying a thousand deaths on the bench, Scolari managed to throw on substitutes Nani and Postiga and it was the two subs that combined for the last goal of the game with three minutes left.
A massive disappointment for Portugal and Germany becomes the first team into the last four. Five goals, lots of action, some sloppy defending and some excellent entertainment. Here’s hoping that it continues.
Comment of the Day
"No17 Germany – 1m98, No13 – 1m88, Klose – 1m82, No21 – 195. I have to worry about that – and that my players are 115cm, 120cm." - Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Prediction Update
Nearly 20% of posters (too many to list) got the finishing positions of countries in group D spot on. It tightened things up at the top and Sounderfan has dropped down to second place. According to my calculations here is everyone currently with 20 points or more.The highest possible total after the group stage was 32 points.
One person who did not post his predictions on the blog but if he had he would be leading by a solid margin would be FSR anchor Carlos Machado. Carlos’ only missteps to date were switching the finishing order or Germany/ Croatia and Austria/Poland in Group B.
If he had posted his predictions he would be sitting on 28 points at the moment. Quite an impressive performance from Carlos who also took out time out to complete the Manitoba Marathon last Sunday in a little under four hours.
Questions
These two questions were posted yesterday.
1. So far, is this a better tournament than Euro 2004?
2. Without checking the statistics do you think Euro 2008 has produced more, about the same or less goals than Euro 2004?
My sense is that this is a better tournament than we saw four years ago. The pace is quicker, more teams are committed to going forward and attacking and there have been a number of more memorable performances to date.
I was surprised that there have been fewer goals in the group stage than there was in 2004. Perhaps my memory is clouded by day scarcity of goals in the knockout stage in Portugal. And who knows, there is a strong chance that goals will again be hard to come by once more in the knockout stage.
The cooler temperatures (slightly warmer temperatures in Austria – 26 goals, cooler in Switzerland –31 goals) are likely encouraging a faster pace game and rewarding the countries that are willing to go out and take the game to the opposition.
The Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Turkey (second-half anyway), Croatia and, despite what many knee-jerk stereotype dependant critics will tell you, Italy all benefited by adopting an aggressive approach.
The “what we have we hold brigade” (France, Romania, Poland, Greece and Sweden) are all on the way home. To date only Germany of the sides who have approached the tournament with containment in mind (to be fair it may be a case with Germany that they have just misfired badly) has made it to the knockout stage.
Total Football Revisited
On day eight I posted a comment about commentators who described the Dutch style of 2008 as a total football. I suggested that you should distrust any such description. Gabriele Marcotti suggests that you go a step further and punch them in the mouth!
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.
Before we gaze into the crystal ball here are some statistics collected from UEFA.com and other sources on the players, countries and club affiliations at Euro 2008.
Players Oldest – Ivica Vastica a midfielder for Austria will be 39 in September which makes him six weeks older than Germany’s goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
Youngest – Swiss forward Eren Derdiyok will no longer be a teenager when he turns 20 in six days time.
Tallest – Czech Republic forward Jan Koller stands at 202 cms. which is little over 6 foot 8 inches. But beware Koller and other tall players have been known to grow during major tournaments. Commentators take it upon themselves to add half an inch here and there and so if the Czechs reach the final game don’t be surprised if Koller is over seven foot by June 29th.
Shortest – The player jumping up and down in the tall grass will be Romanian midfielder Florentin Petre who is nearly 5 foot and six and a half inches although he claims that the wall chart in kitchen shows six and five eighth inches.
Countries (average) Oldest Sweden 29.14
Italy 29.10
Greece 29.05
Youngest Russia 26.13
Switzerland 26.38
Spain 26.40
Countries with players 21 or under at the start of the the tournament - 21 Switzerland, Portugal, Austria and Turkey 3 each
Croatia, France and Poland 2 each
Romania, Czech Republic and Spain 1 each
Countries with outfield players 34 or over at the start of the the tournament - 16 Austria, Sweden, France, Croatia, Italy and Czech Republic 2 each
Poland, Italy, Germany and Turkey 1 each
Countries with the fewest domestic based players in their squad Croatia 2
Czech Republic 3
Countries with the most domestic based players in their squad Russia 22
Germany and Italy 19
Tallest (average) Croatia 184.91 (a smidgen under 6 foot 2 inches)
Germany 184.87
Switzerland 184.61
Shortest (average) Spain 179.61 (180 is 6 foot)
Turkey 180.35
Portugal 180.57
Players contributed by clubs Panathinaikos (Greece) and Lyon (France) 10 each
Galatasaray (Turkey) and Bayern Munich 9 each
Premiership clubs represented – 17 of 20. Arsenal and Chelsea 7
Liverpool 5
Manchester United 4
Highest representation of players by league Germany 56
England 43
Spain 41
Italy 36
Russia 30
For those making predictions don’t be to despondent should your “dead-cert can’t lose winner” get off to a slow start. There is ample evidence to show that countries can recover from a set-back or two at the group stage and still go on to the final or even win the Championship.
1980 – Belgium won only once in the group stage but went on to finish as runners-up to Germany.
1984 – Spain recorded just one win in three group games but qualified for the knock out stage all the same and finished as runners-up to France.
1988 – The Netherlands lost their opening game of the tournament to the Soviet Union but gained revenge when the counties met again in the final when the Dutch won 2-0.
1992 – Danish players were recalled from the beaches and golf courses of Europe to take the place of Yugoslavia. Denmark had a draw and a loss in their first two group games before beating France and moving into the last eight. From there the Netherlands were beaten in a penalty kick shoot-out and the Danes took the title beating Germany 2-0 in the final.
1996 – The Czech Republic lost their opening group game 2-0 to Germany but rebounded to make the final against the same opponent. However, Germany doubled the Czechs with a golden goal from Oliver Bierhoff.
2004 – Few would have predicted that the two countries that opened the tournament would also make it all the way to the final match. But that was exactly what happened. Greece beat Portugal 2-1 in the opener and then again 1-0 in the final.
However, few seem to remember that the opening game win was Greece’s only victory in group play. The second match was a 1-1 draw with Spain and Russia then beat the eventual winners 2-1. Portugal actually won group A while Greece only moved on based on scoring more goals than Spain having finished tied on both points and goal differential.
Predictions Before anyone jumps all over anyone's predictions there is one rule. No criticism allowed unless you also post your own predictions under the comments section. A scoring system can be found at the end of my predictions.
Group A 1. Portugal 2. Czech Republic 3. Switzerland 4. Turkey
