Best goal Russia’s second goal against Sweden scored by Arshavin created by Zhirkov.
Best free kick goal (possibly the only free kick goal) Michael Ballack’s rocket against Austria.
Players of the Tournament 1. Xavi Hernandez, 2. Marcos Senna, 3. David Silva, (All Spain).
Euro 2008 - the Best of (4-1-4-1) Buffon (Italy); Anyukov (Russia), Puyol (Spain), Chiellini (Italy), Zhirkov (Russia); Senna (Spain); Xavi (Spain), Ballack (Germany), van der Vaart (Netherlands), Silva (Spain); Villa (Spain).
Second Team (4-1-3-2) Casillas (Spain); Corluka (Croatia), Tamos (Romania), Simunic (Croatia), Rat (Romania); Aurelio (Turkey); Sneijder (Netherlands), Deco (Portugal), Poldolski (Germany); Arshavin (Russia), Torres (Spain).
Officiating Group stages – fair to good. Knock out rounds – very good to excellent.
Comments of the Day “For whatever reason, Spain excels at producing pint-sized pass-happy pixies: Xavi, David Silva and Andres Iniesta are all in the same mould, creative little fellas who can pass the ball to death. The problem is, you can only fit so many of them in your team.” – Gabriele Marcotti writing back on the eve of the European Championship.
“But the limiting of his participation has not prevented the Arsenal man (Cesc Fabregas) from confirming that he is not simply the most creative architect of penetration available to his country but conceivably the ultimate practitioner of the art in all of football today. And he is as brave as he is talented, constantly displaying not just the physical version of courage but that rarer form so often lauded by Sir Alex Ferguson, the kind that makes a player eager to embrace responsibility, to think always not of what will make him look good but what will benefit the team. As it happens, Fabregas’s innate style almost invariably causes him to look good whatever he does.” – Hugh McIlvanney.
Predictions
Geniusatwork takes the prediction league with 44 points out of a possible 64 points - congratulations.
Thank you to all that participated and the cast of thousands identified by daFootbllas who were apparently responsible for tabulating the results for me.
Blog wisdom and mirror time Pride of place goes to the following posters for their insight and willingness to critique others choices without posting their own predictions.
OCbabelovesepl – “whoever seriously picked SPAIN to win, is retarded. Spain never pulls through, with or without Fernando Torres. That’s the way it is.”
Bman87 – “How funny, in your predictions Germany always beats the Czechs (by the way Czechs beat Germans twice in last three games) or Portugal and Spain are beating everyone else. Unfortunately these two losers will choke again. The final will be Holand (sic) – Czechs, Any m@ron understand that these two teams are playing the most entertaining football.”
No doubt we can look forward to more insight from these two clowns in four years time.
Next up Draws for the first two qualifying rounds of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League will be held tomorrow, July 1.
Match Report Spain 1-0 Germany It is very rare for a country to make it through a complete tournament final (6 games in the European championships or 7 at the World Cup) playing almost flawless and entertaining football and in the end still lift the trophy. This Spain has done just that and there can be little doubt that they were the best team at Euro 2008.
Spain may have sputtered sporadically in some of the six games but at no time did the overall quality of their play slip below the opposition’s for 90 minutes or anything close to it.
Germany settled into the final match more quickly and for the first 10 minutes looked to be the most dangerous side. An early slip from Ramos allowed Klose half a chance but his control let him down.
Germany targeted the right side of the Spanish defense trying to split right back Ramos and center back Puyol with passes played into the space between them. A similar tactic would eventually bear fruit although it would be Spain that would prosper rather than Germany.
After some early nerves Spain settled in to their familiar pattern of short quick passes and constant movement in midfield. Halfway through the first 45 minutes a Fabregas to Ramos move finished with Fernando Torres leaping high above the German defense only to see his downward header rebound off the base of the post. With no one to take advantage of the rebound the danger was cleared.
As the first half progressed it became obvious that Germany was carrying a number of players who were just not up to the occasion and could not match Spain’s play. Just after the half hour mark Spain scored what would ultimately be the only goal of the game.
A Xavi Hernandez pass split Metzelder and Lahm. Lahm was guilty of worrying too much about Fernando Torres and not making a great enough effort to get to the ball first. Torres brushed the full back aside and clipped the ball over an advancing Jens Lehmann.
The half time introduction of Marcell Jansen after half time was the catalyst for Germany’s best spell of the game. Even then there was little threat that Iker Casillas would be beaten.
The introduction of Alonso for Fabregas swung any territorial advantage back Spain’s way and although Germany threw more players forward Spain was the team most likely to score.
With expectations raised for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa it will be very interesting to see how Spain reacts.
Ratings
Spain Casillas 7 – Lifting the trophy caused him more problems than the German attack.
Ramos 7 – Improved as the game progressed but mental errors are never far away.
Puyol 8 – Strong in the air and along with Marchena (8) presented a formidable barrier.
Capdevilla 7 – Had little to do but what he did do was accomplished with great effectiveness and efficiency.
Senna 9 – Another outstanding display of defensive midfield play but also exhibited great mobility and could have even scored in the last few minutes as he appeared in Germany’s six yard box.
Iniesta 9 – Enjoyed his best performance of the competition. If he put a foot wrong then I missed it. He was at the centre of most of Spain’s moves constantly prompting, passing and supporting.
Xavi Hernandez 8 - Just a smidgen off a 9. Played the through ball that Torres latched onto and scored from.
Cesc Fabregas 7 - Struggled to stamp any authority on the match.
Silva 7 – One of his quietest games of the tournament and was not as influential as we’ve come to expect.
Torres 8 – His pace and power a constant threat to the German defense. But even scoring the winning goal wasn’t enough to stop Aragones from substituting him.
Substitutes Alonso 7 – Helped Spain through the vital last half an hour.
Cazorla 7 – Brought on to replace Silva after he went head-to-head with Podolski. Did what he was supposed without being flashy.
Guiza 7 – With 12 minutes to go he had little time to establish himself but still delivered 100% effort in that time.
Germany
Lehmann 8 – Some may criticize him for the goal that was conceded but I wouldn’t. He never looked comfortable but he still pulled off three very good saves.
Friedrich 7 – Spain rarely attacked down Germany’s right and and for large spells of the game he was hardly noticeable.
Mertesacker 8 – Battled bravely and without him the the destination of the trophy would have been decided long before 90 minutes was up.
Metzelder 5 – The doubts about Metzelder’s readiness for this tournament were widely discussed in the lead up. Any problems he had in the previous games had not proven costly. It was not the case tonight. Nervous, indecisive and off the pace of the game.
Lahm 5 – At fault for the goal he only lasted 45 minutes.
Frings 7 – He fought the good fight and perhaps if he had better support in midfield the outcome might have been different.
Hitzlsperger 5 – Out of his depth. Lucky to last as long as he did.
Schweinsteiger 6 – A big disappointment. His set pieces were very poor and his hesitation to deliver early passes when the opportunity arose stifled a number of promising opportunities.
Ballack 7 – He was too occupied trying to contain the Spanish midfield and had little time to get forward and to support Klose.
Podolski 6 - Accomplished little and was never a threat.
Klose 6 – He never look comfortable, his touch was off and he strayed into off-site positions too often and too easily.
Substitutes Jansen 7 – He showed some of the form that was on display in the first game against Poland. A willingness to get stuck in and win some tackles provided a platform for some early German attacks in the second half.
Kuranyi 5 - He was given over 30 minutes to make an impact and he didn’t.
Gomez 5 – He spent as much time on the field has Guiza and delivered about 80% less.
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 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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