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 ?

Educated but irresponsible

Around 60% of the 17.3 million eligible voters cast their vote in the first phase of the Karnataka assembly elections held on 10th May. And among the 11 southern districts that went to polls, it was the district holding perhaps the highest number of [ highly ? ] educated people, Bangalore [ BBMP to be precise ] that had the lowest turnout of people casting their right to vote. The number was a paltry 40%.

I find it very irresponsible on the part of these 60% of people who did not cast their votes this time. Everyone is ready to find faults with the government and the system that does not seem to be doing anything good to the people by and large. One of the reasons being lack of dedicated politicians. When we have more than half of the educated people hiding behind their doors, instead of going out to vote [ which happens usually around once in 5 years ], I see it as no surprise that we have such people governing this state. Everyone must have definately thought, what difference can my "one vote" make ? Well, from the above statistics its very evident what a great difference each and every single vote makes.

I wish we had some statistics on the education qualification of the people voting. That would clearly give us the true picture on the kind of people who are bringing the government to power. I have a feeling that, almost half of the people who actually voted, would not have completed their school education successfully. They would definately be voting for people who promise them lots of things. These poor people would not be able to even judge if these promises are viable to be fulfilled. 

When it comes to blaming, we are the first ones to shout. When it comes to owning our responsibility and doing our bit to the society, we always find hundreds of reasons to shun ourselves from these responsibilities. I wonder, what right do these 60% of the people have to talk bad about the government. But then, this is a democracy. Everyone has the right to voice his opinions. And thats the only thing we have been doing. Just shout and cry at all the bad things happening around us. But, not a single soul is ready to do his little bit to the society. We are the first to pass the ball of responsibility to others instead of growing up to take charge of things.

Thinking about all these things, i am really not surprised that India is in the state it is now in.

When Heart Attack Strikes

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor to certify all the things that i write here in this post. This is a collection of things i have heard from people i met in the past few months. Wanted to write this post since long, hoping that some soul out there might read it and be knowledgeable when he/she encounters some person with these symptoms. If you are a doctor and are reading this, and find these things to be right or wrong, please leave a comment.

Many a times people do not realize that they are experiencing an Heart attack. Here is a list of symptoms you can observe in a person who is experiencing heart attack. One of the biggest reasons for this lack of awareness is that these symptoms look very similar to other possible disorders. So, going by that, the list below is not a comprehensive list and it also does not mean that a person experiencing these symptoms is definitely undergoing a heart attack. What it certainly means, is that he needs immediate medical attention.

When you see a patient suffering from an heart attack and find that it is gonna take more time to reach the doctor, then give him a tablet "sorbitrate" [ this is available in India, not sure what its equivalent in other countries is ]. This tablet should be kept under the tongue and not swallowed. It gives the patient atleast an hour's time of survival. I have heard that even given a Disprin in this same manner would help, though i am not very sure about it. 

I have also heard of patients who were quite young in age [ in their 30s ], where they did not display any of these symptoms, but had an attack all of a sudden. It was later found out to be due to blockage in the arteries. Basically, it means that you aren't always lucky to witness these symptoms in the patient. None the less, majority of the patients display these symptoms. If you find anyone with these symptoms, then its high time you get them undergo the necessary tests to diagnose a developing heart attack.

1. One of the most common symptoms a patient experiences while having an attack is burning sensation in the chest. Other possible reasons for chest pain, or chest burning sensations are indigestion or having eaten very spicy food. So don't confuse yourself on this symptom. Better get an ECG done immediately to confirm the real reason.

2. The patient experiences numbness in his left arm. Other reasons for this could also be lack of blood flow to your arm, because the hand was under some weight, something like, you slept with the hand under your body, restricting the blood flow.

3. The patient experiences severe pain on his back, usually right behind his heart. Other reasons for this could be, bad sleeping posture in the night, or a bad mattress.

4. The pain behind his back, now moves to the backside of his neck, usually on the right side. Other reasons for this could be, a very hard pillow you use while sleeping.

5. Heavy breathing, sometimes accompanied by louder than usual sound. Other reasons for this could be, asthma.

6. Sometimes, the patient might wake up suddenly from sleep and start coughing. Most probably a wet cough.

There are certainly many more symptoms, that i am not aware of, and not written above. If you know of any authentic symptoms, please let them as a comment to this post.

Usually, the first 24 hours after getting an heart attack are considered to be very crucial and this critical period can extend upto 5 days. The patient is given some very costly injections, usually in 3 or 5 doses, based on the severity of the attack. [ Not sure about the name of his injection or its purpose .. I suppose, its for giving immediate relief by decreasing the congestion in the blood vessels ]. Once these injections are given and the patient survives the heart attack, you need get an agiogram done to detect the blockages and follow it with angioplasty or surgery, as advised by the doctor.