Euro 2008 : Español delicia

Casillas became the first goal keeper captain to lift the Euro Cup. The finals of Euro 2008 was filled with class and artistry from Spaniards that crushed the Germans. The flair and style of the attacking game displayed by Spain was too much to handle for the Germans. Germans have always relied on early goals from their forwards. Instead it were the Spaniards who scored the early goal, infact, the only goal of the match.

Even though we had only one goal in the entire match, the match in itself was very entertaining. It was good to see a European team rely so much on beautiful passes. It looked more like a south american team playing against the might of German defense. The way they were passing the ball with small passes frustrated the Germans as was evident from the brawls and shouts from their captain, Ballack. These beautiful small passes produced quite a few exciting moments for the Spanish team. They could have easily scored another couple of goals had it not been for some poor finishing. Probably, the Golden boot boy, Villa could have provided them that so important finishing touch.

I felt sad for Ballack who played very well during the course of the match. He provided very good passes and opened up the Spanish defense. The Germans could not capatalise on those lovely passes. I found them to be bewildered. Probably, the backdrop of playing in the finals, and then lagging behind by a goal was too much pressure for them to handle. It was even more sad to hear that this was Ballack's 5th final where he did not  lift the winning trophy. May be 2010 World Cup could be his.

I dont know how far its true, but I got very superstitous for the last 3 matches of this tournament. Every single prediction I made for the knockout stage went wrong. I was hoping for a Russia-Turkey final, and they both got knocked off in the semis. With Germany and Spain fighting for the coveted European Champions crown, I wanted the Spaniards to win. I didnt want to test my predictions this time and decided not to blog about it. Luckily, I think it worked :)



I wonder if its a Spanish delight thats gonna rule the sporting events this season. Is this some kind of a signal for Nadal winning Wimbeldon this year ??

Time stands still for Ivanovic

Reliving the most tense seconds in her tennis career, the 20-year-old Serb could not stop smiling.

"I felt like time stopped for a moment," she told reporters after her 6-7, 7-6, 10-8 victory against the 97th-ranked Frenchwoman. "The ball hit the net and it was in the air for a couple of seconds."

So she felt the least she could do was go and kiss the net afterwards for giving her such a lucky reprieve.

"If it wasn't for that net and that place, you know, I would be booking my flight back home," she said.

Time stands still for Ivanovic

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Euro 2008 : Casillas defeats Buffon

Wow !! Its unbelievable !!! All my predictions for the all the quarter final matches have been completely wrong. The only thing I liked about these predictions was their consistency :)

Thanks to Casillas, Spain are the only team that have topped in their group and still qualified for the semi finals. Going by points alone, they are the favourites. But as it has been proved time and again, 

Your past performance, only shows your capability to achieve. Its only your performance on the day that can produce results 

The last quarter final match between Spain and Italy was the worst quarter final match. It was played in true European style of defense. Both the defenses were strong enough to wade away any attacks. Both the teams looked reluctant to shoot purposefully.  Luca Toni for Italy failed again to make any impression. Infact, he needs to forget his nightmare in this tournament and move on. 

When the ball ever crossed the defense, it was met with a class goal keeping effort by the tournaments 2 best goal keepers. It was fitting to their class, that the match had to be decided on penalties. At the end of the day, Casillas prevailed over Buffon. His 2 saves, won the match for Spain.

I was surprised to see the penalties being stopped after Fabregas scored for Spain. Spain were leading with 4 goals to 2. Italy had 2 more shots to take and Spain had one. Technically, if Spain failed to score their next shot, and Italy scored both, we could have ended up at 4-4 !!! I wonder what I am missing here ?

Euro 2008 : Russia outclass Holland

The third quarter final match between Netherlands and Russia, was the most thrilling of the knockout matches. I hadnt seen Russia's game so keenly in the group matches and was happy to see them giving a good fight to the Netherlands. 

Holland started slow in the first half of the match. Russians were a pumped up lot and looked more energetic. Netherlands were quick movers in all their group matches, but the Russians proved to be even faster. The attacks from both the sides produced some great quality football. 

For the first time in this tournament, Netherlands conceded a goal before scoring one themselves !!! From then on, they were in catch up mode. Probably, this was the only match they were in pressure to score a goal, not to seal a victory, but to equalize. The quick Russians stretched the Dutch, and created lovely spaces to score goals.

The Dutch hero, Van Nistelrooy scored a goal in the 86th minute to give Holland some hope. In the extra time, Russians seem to be even more pumped up. Or may be, the Dutch got lethargic. Whatever the reason, Russians were the first to score in extra time as well. And, then came the last nail in the coffin, with the hero of the match, Arshavin scoring the thrid goal for Russia. It was game, set and match for Russians. The Dutch fans were simply stunned.

With this match, we have all the 3 top leading teams in the 3 groups, knocked out of the semis. Will Italy follow suit ? Are the Russians peaking at the right time ? Or is it the Turks ? I was hoping for a Portugal and Holland show down for the finals. And here we have both of them knocked out in the quarter finals itself !!! This tournament always has a thing for springing in more and more surprises. It was the unknown team of Greece that stunned the football fraternity in Europe in 2004.  Are we in for a Turkey Russia final then ? 

Turkey does it again

Turkey have suddenly earned the name of "Fight Back Team" in Euro 2008, or should I say, late scorers ? It started in the last match of their group game against Czech Republic, where they were lagging by a goal, and ended up scoring 2 goals in a span of 3 minutes in the dying moments of the match. These goals not only won them the match, they also made them qualify to the quarter finals, knocking out the shocked Czechs.

To the much delight of all the Turks, and fans of Turkey, they did it again !!! Just, that this time the prize was much bigger. They booked themselves a place in the semi finals against the mighty Germans. If the Germans have been watching the way Turks play, I am sure they must be preparing a lot more on their defense tactics, especially in the dying moments of a match.

The second quarter final match of Euro 2008 between, Croatia [ which i thought was the team to win this match !!! ] and Turkey was very close to being a dull match. Croatia must be kicking themselves for rueing their chances they had to score goals. For majority of the 90 minutes, both the teams made good advances, but always found the defenders stealing the ball from them. Towards the 90th minute, people were hoping for the Turkish magic to work, and hoping that they would score the winning goal. But it wasnt to be. The players were all tired and lethargic. All 22 players on the field wanted to play safe and take the game to penalties.

Even in extra time, they seemed to show the same lack of will to score any goals. In the 119th minute of the match, Croatia were delighted to see the Turkish goal keeper, "Rustu", who was having a great day at office, squander away from the goalpost for a moment, to give Croats a great chance to score through an empty goal. The Croats did just that. With just about a minute left in the game, plus some injury time, Croats had almost booked their place in the semis.

But, as it was in their previous match, Turks in a most astonishing way, found an equaliser in the very dying moments [ or should i say seconds ? ] of the match. The Croatian coach was angry at the referee for allowing the game to exceed by "two extra minutes", when the official verdict was to extend the game by only "one minute" as injury time. A match which had nothing to offer to the spectators suddenly turned into anguish and hope for either side of the fans. The equalizer goal from Turkey, made the Croats feel like having lost a winning match. At the same time the Turks were pumped up for the penalty kicks that followed.

The Croats were completely demoralised and 2 of the penalty kicks they took did not even hit the target !!! The pumped up Turks scored all their goals and surprisingly booked themselves a semi finals place against the Germans.

My predictions so far have gone horribly wrong for the knockout matches. Both the teams, Portugal and Croatia, whom i expected to see in the semis have failed to do so. My predictions for the other 2 quarter final matches are Netherlands and Italy. Its gonna be fun to see how these predictions shape up :)

Euro 2008 : Germany storm into Semis

The first quarter finals match between Germany and Portugal was a high octane match. The pace was great at all the times. But it was sad to see Portugal crash out.

Germany stuck to their World Cup strategy of scoring early and defending well. I am sure this strike from Ballack he scored in the previous group match against Austria must have been the turning point for the Germans in this tournament. 

Conceding 2 goals in a span of 4 minutes that too just after 20th minute of the match, puts a great deal of pressure on the opposition. Thats exactly what the Germans did to Portuguese. It certainly lifted the tempo of the match and we got to watch the fascinating technique of Portugal fight against the mighty [ both in terms of physique and game control ] defense of the Germans. This relentless attack from Portugal produced a goal for them in the dying moments of the first half. Portugal werent going down without a fight. Infact they had a very good chance to fight back when the scoreline read 1 goal to 2 at the end of the first half.

The second half started with even more fierce attacks from Portugal, but the German defense had the better of them. But it was Germany who scored first again. Portugal failed to find an early goal in the second half. Portugal finally scored their second goal in the 84th minute of the match, but it was a touch late to come.

German defense prevailed, and Portugal had to bow out from this tournament. Germany have a very high chance of meeting Netherlands in the finals, while they await the winner of Turkey v/s Croatia match. I guess, either of them should not cause any problems to Germany in the semis.

Euro 2008 : Ready for Knockout

From the 16 teams that qualified for this year's Euro 2008, we finally have the best 8 of them after the end of the group matches. The schedule for the knockout is below :

The most surprising team to qualify for the knockout stage were Turkey. Not because they were considered weak, but because they defeated a so called good team, Czech Republic. Turkey were lucky to have qualified and should fancy their chances against Croatia in the quarter finals. Turkey might be the surprise team to make it to the semis though.

Russia too were the under-dogs in their group D. But an out of form Sweden was all they needed to qualify themselves for the quarters. Russians might be in dilemma though. Should they be happy that they qualified for the quarters, or be sad that they have to meet probably the best team in this tournament, Netherlands in their quarter final encounter !!! I would be really happy to see them give a good fight.

Had it not been for a bad day at office for the Germans, we could have seen them fight the Portuguese in the semis. But as it stands now, we would have only one of them proceeding to the semis, which is kinda sad. And this very thing should give the Croats a good chance to proceed to the semis.

The red card ghost seems to have followed France from the World Cup to Euro 2008. In the first half itself, they were reduced to 10 men. Had it not been for an unbelievably bad day for Luca Toni, Italy would have beaten France by more than 2 goals. The Henry magic failed miserably this time, with his touch providing the rivals their second goal. Italy have their task cut out. They have to beat the quick fire Spaniards in the quarters and then be prepared to meet the Dutch team in the semis. The World Cup champions have to prove their mettle against a very tough draw to make it to the finals.

My favorites to make it to the semis would be Portugal, Croatia, Netherlands and Spain and probably have a Portugal and Netherlands final. On second thoughts, if the most fierce freehit taken with great German precision by Ballack, boosts his team, we can have a German Dutch final as well.

Euro 2008 : Round Robin 2

Please click on the image below to see its details

Group A match between between Portugal and Czech Republic was a treat to watch, and more so if you are a Portuguese fan ;-)

Croatia pulled out a stunner in the Group B match beating the Germans 2 - 1. Germans were completely in disarray for the entire duration of the match. They just had a horrible day at office. Not a single pass was in the right place. I dont remember seeing Klose making any impact on the match. And thats a very unusual thing to see. Germans now have to win their next match with Austria to qualify to the quarter finals. [ or atleast draw with Austria ]

The way Netherlands is playing, there is little doubt in assuming that they would make it to the finals. I am expecting to see a Holland - Portugal final. The Dutch are in prime form and are playing their football with great flair and teamwork. They certainly look invinsible. Italy were stunned by the drawn match with Romania. Romania have a technical chance to make it to the knockout stage, but only if they beat the inform Dutch team, or atleast if they draw with Dutch, while the Italy and France match as well ends in a draw. This sets up the Italy and France match very precariously, with both the teams needing nothing less than a win to move ahead to the quarters. Will we see a repeat of the World Cup final in the results ? Hopefully, both the teams play some watchable football and go for the kill.

As expected, the Russians knocked out Euro 2004 champions Greece in the second round robin match itself. It was the Spanish and Swedish match that created more fervor than any other in this group. The referee for this match was horrible. He was hell bent on breaking the flow of the match, by taking his own time to blow the whistle for free-kicks. It was even worse to see him blow the half time whistle when Spain was near to complete an attack. Probably, it was just providence that Spain scored the final goal to beat Sweden and lead the teams in this group. 

Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and Russia would be the teams that will be to watch out for the last round of the round robin matches in this Euro 2008.

Quality Striker

The mark of a quality striker is his sense of timing to be at the right time at the right place. Thats exactly what Christiano Ronaldo did to be part of all the 3 goals Portugal scored against the Czecks to seal their place in the knockout stage. They could most probably meet Croatia in the quarter finals.

The first goal was a sweet pass from Ronaldo that gave Deco all the time to score an early 8th minute goal to set up a high tempo to the entire match. The Czecks gave a good fight and thats what made the match even more interesting. Ofcourse, they lacked the skills of a neat striker like Ronaldo. The ball possession of Portugal for the entire match was good. The commentator gave a very good statistic during the course of the match. Just about during the half time, Czecks had about 120 successful passes while Portugal had close to 260 successful passes !!! Well, he did point out that it isnt the about how many successful passes you have that counts, but what you do with them that matters :-)

The second goal scored by Ronaldo was taken very quick and very clean. The ball was hit with great accuracy and speed which left the goal keeper very less time to save it. It was a Ronaldo special.

The class of this man was seen in the third goal, when he broke through the defense with such alacrity that the Czecks were caught unaware. Ronaldo very unselfishly passed on the ball to his team mate, Quaresma to score an easy goal.

Like always, Ronaldo was at the right place at the right time. He has been judged the PFA player of the year for 2008. Only time will tell if we can see him produce more magic in Euro 2008.

Euro 2008 : Round Robin 1

Here are the team standings after the first round of matches in the group stages. Another 2 more round of matches to go before we have a clear list of teams that make it to the knockout stage.

Euro 2008 : Group D

Both Russia and Spain in their first match in this group had a very nervous start. It were the Spaniards who broke the ice first and won the match with a very convincing 4 - 1 victory. The match producing the highest number of goals in this first round of matches in all the groups. This match also produced the tournaments first hat trick by Villa, who should thank the weak Russian defense more than his own team mates. The Russian goalkeeper looked completed out of the place. The Russians always were on the backfoot and played with a negative frame of mind. The Spaniards made good and fast progress on the counter attacks that helped them score 4 goals. The Russians did regroup themselves in the second half and they definately deserved that goal they scored. The Spaniards looked good in the game, but it could be the Russians who are the surprise package from this group.

In complete contrast to the first match, the second one between Sweden and the reigning Euro 2004 champions Greece, was very dull which lacked all momentum. Greece were very scared to even attack and the spectators were jeering them for time wasting tactics !!! Luckily, the Sweds pressed the accelerator on their game and started playing with flair. Ibrahimvoic, produced a stunner from the edge of the D to score the first goal for Sweds. It was the second goal that brought laughter to this dull match. Undoubtedly, the most funniest goal of the tournament.

Spain and Sweden definately have a very good advantage from the first games in this group. It is still not easy to predict who would finally qualify from this group with all the four teams playing very nervous first games. The Spanish team had more flair than any other, and I would not be surprised to see them in the semis.

Euro 2008 : Group C

The first match in this group was between France and Romania. There is only one word that can describe this match. "Boring". It produced the tournaments first goalless draw. The match was very dull with neither of the teams taking charge. Both of them lacked any quality finishers. Romania had a better defense which the mild attack of French could not penetrate. The second half did start on a promising note, but failed to produce anything substantial. Romania showed some promise but have unfortunately found themselves in a tough group. France seem to be maintaining their previous records of having more drawn matches than lost matches, trying to just scape through the next stage. After watching this game, I would hope that neither of these teams qualify for the knockout stage.

The second match in this group between Netherlands and the reigning World Champions Italy was such a great contrast to the earlier match. A thrilling match to say the least. Holland proved too good for the world famous Italian defense [ probably they missed Cannavaro more than what they expected ]. Though the first goal was definately a mistake by the linesman, it was the second goal that proved the dominance of Dutch. Undoubtedly the best goal seen so far in this tournament. I hope this match wakes up the Italians and hopefully they can come down hard on the other 2 teams in their group.

Though this group was touted as the group of death, the French game definately disproves this. After the first match, I can see that Holland and Italy are the strong favourites to qualify from this group. It would be a tough choice to pick the semi finalists from this group. If they maintain the same momentum, I would put my money on Holland than on Italy.

Euro 2008 : Group B

There is a striking similarity in the first matches that have been played in Groups A and B. Both the host teams lose their match to a solitary goal, and the much expected strong team in these groups easily win by scoring 2 goals :-)  

Both the host teams, Switzerland and now Austria, are struggling to make a mark in this tournament. I hope they get to score a goal at least !!! First match of Group B, between Austria and Croatia started on a freaky note, with Croatia getting a penalty kick in the 4th minute itself. From then on, it was a simple one sided attack game, with the hosts shooting wildly in the hunt for an equalizer. Football is a team game, where its so important to make short passes and keep the ball possession to generate any goal scoring opportunites. Austria needs to practice this basic tenet of football. The match itself was played very rough and was not delightful to watch.

   Germany are the inform team, among all the teams that I have seen till now. They are a definite team to reach the semis. Last, I saw them was in the World Cup, and they seem to have carried on their team bonding to this tournament as well. Klose and Podolski are teaming up again very well. They are quick movers and can easily break through the oppositions defense. As always, the German defense looks solid. With Lehmann guarding the German goalpost, it would be interesting to see if Germany concede any goal. They were clearly a notch ahead of Poland.

 Germany should easily lead this group. Poland havent quite impressed me much which makes me hope that Croatia would be the second team to qualify from this group.

Euro 2008 : Group A

Host team Switzerland could not capitalize on their home ground support they had in their opening tie with Czech Republic. With the quality of football I saw in this match, I have doubts on the Swiss team even making it to the knockout stage. They had plenty of chances to score goals, but they lacked a quality finisher in their frontline, who could convert these opportunities into goals. Czechs had a only a few chances and in a way were lucky to have been on the winning side. Both the teams played a very nervous game. I was expecting more quality in the Czechs game than what I saw. 

Portugal seem to be in great composition. They are a well co-ordinated team, who are one of my favourites to definately make it to the semis, if not the finals. Deco and Ronaldo are in great shape. Both can create sweet breaks and provide those all important passes for the finishers to score goals. They both themselves are great finishers which adds a lot of venom to this team. Scolari, their coach, is the best man they can have to provide them with the right strategy they should be following in the games to come. Portugal had a very easy first game and were never really tested by the Turks. Turkey needs to regroup their game a lot and could develop as a team as time progresses. They do possess the talent to out smart Czech that can add some life to this group.

After watching the first 2 games in Group A, we can easily conclude that Portugal and Czech Republic would easily qualify for the knockout stage from this group, unless the Turks produce something out of the blue.

Euro 2008

Euro 2008 kicks off in another couple of days on 6th June. To get into the mood of it and also to track the matches as they proceed, I have created a small excel sheet with all team standings and match schedules. This page gets updated automatically every 5 minutes. Hope it helps you too to keep yourself up-to-date on this tourney. Please visit that page and let me know if there any more changes needed in it. Of course, there is also this Google 23 days site that should be giving us latest news and updates on this tourney.

European Football Championship has a special connection with me. It was the days of Euro 2004, when I first started blogging and also visited Europe and also got my first Google account. Oh boy, there was so much of craze those days to get a Google account, and having one would make you look so privileged :-)

This year, we do not have the much popular England team in the finals. This will give us a chance to get to know a bit more of the other European players. Who would be crowned the euro 2008 champs  this year ? Will it be Italy? With Ronaldo being in great form, will it be Portugal ? How about France ? Hopefully Henry displays his magic for us :-) Or will it be someone spilling in a new surprise again as Greece did it the previous time ?