Euro 2008 - UEFA

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

What a choke job. Unreal.

Turkish captain Nihat with a game of his life, his two late goals won the game.

world class finish on that third goal. great stuff.

[KTown]

Its like god said no way to the Czechs winning. Petr Cech arguably the best goalie in the world drops and easy ball

Polak hits the post which would have made it 3-0 earlier and the Czechs instead choke and lose.

This loss hurts more than a 4-0 blowout.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by KTown

Koller with the header, the man is playing like he's 25 again.

He's dominating up front and creating alot of space. Someone here earlier said Koller is too old to play, I wonder what that person thinks now, because he was a man on a mission in the first half.

That was me and I stand by it. He missed the net on a breakaway, if it doesnt hit him in the head he is useless.

The Czechs are done. Bad goaltending, bad defense and poor finishing means the end of them. I was hoping they'd win so my predictions would be right, but an epic meltdown at the end seals the deal.

I've never seen a huge guy like Koller go down so easily with such a little shove, that was disgraceful, then again, the keeper shouldnt have shoved him, but Koller sold it.

Good on the Swiss for winning, I was happy about that. Portugal loses and the Swiss win one at their own tournament.

[ricoFlame]

everybody in group A had at least 1 win. good stuff. good on the swiss.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Well to be quite honest, Czechs reminded me of one certain hockey team, who gets up two goals, lacks killer instinct, throws away a couple of chances, the goalie lets in first weak goal, then lays a huge egg on second one, team in front of him collapses, third goal goes in and they are done.

Now you only need game analysts to point out that Czechs hit the post (could be 3:0) - the ball didnt go it, Turks hit the bar - the ball goes in (3rd goal). It's a game of bounces, the Czechs didnt get one, Turks did. And Kip...Cech let in one huge softie that deflated the team.

[rockstar]

Originally Posted by Locke

That was me and I stand by it. He missed the net on a breakaway, if it doesnt hit him in the head he is useless.

The Czechs are done. Bad goaltending, bad defense and poor finishing means the end of them. I was hoping they'd win so my predictions would be right, but an epic meltdown at the end seals the deal.

I've never seen a huge guy like Koller go down so easily with such a little shove, that was disgraceful, then again, the keeper shouldnt have shoved him, but Koller sold it.

Good on the Swiss for winning, I was happy about that. Portugal loses and the Swiss win one at their own tournament.

That was pretty brutal. A stupid move by the Turkish kepper, but not deserving of a red card.

Now, I'm not all that familiar with the rules. I know getting sent off means you miss the next match, but can that ruling be reversed if UEFA looks at that play and decides a red card wasn't warranted? How is the second-string keeper for Turkey?

[Flame Of Liberty]

I may be missing something here, but how was that not red card worthy? Assault like that gets you a red card pretty much every time.

[KTown]

Originally Posted by rockstar

That was pretty brutal. A stupid move by the Turkish kepper, but not deserving of a red card.

Now, I'm not all that familiar with the rules. I know getting sent off means you miss the next match, but can that ruling be reversed if UEFA looks at that play and decides a red card wasn't warranted? How is the second-string keeper for Turkey?

Why push at all especially when you have a goal kick?

The goalie has no one to blame but himself and Croatia is loving every moment of it because the backup keeper will have to play next game.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

I may be missing something here, but how was that not red card worthy? Assault like that gets you a red card pretty much every time.

Agreed. As soon as you push someone its all over. Obviously the guy sold it, but the push was there. Red card, no doubt.

Great game though, you can't get more dramatic than that.

[KTown]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

Well to be quite honest, Czechs reminded me of one certain hockey team, who gets up two goals, lacks killer instinct, throws away a couple of chances, the goalie lets in first weak goal, then lays a huge egg on second one, team in front of him collapses, third goal goes in and they are done.

Now you only need game analysts to point out that Czechs hit the post (could be 3:0) - the ball didnt go it, Turks hit the bar - the ball goes in (3rd goal). It's a game of bounces, the Czechs didnt get one, Turks did. And Kip...Cech let in one huge softie that deflated the team.

Good call.

The Czechs are a two type team.

They either

a) Do really well in a tournament, for example Euro 2004, and 96.

or

b) They do really bad in a tournament including some of the greatest choke jobs in history. Euro 2008, WC 06 fall under this category.

In other news Canada beat St. Vincent-Grenades today 3-0 in the first of a back to back or world cup qualifying.

[rockstar]

Originally Posted by KTown

Why push at all especially when you have a goal kick?

The goalie has no one to blame but himself and Croatia is loving every moment of it because the backup keeper will have to play next game.

Oh I agree, don't get me wrong. Pretty poor decision making on his part. He probably just prevented his country from moving any further.

I was just wondering if a call can be reversed afterwards.

[KTown]

Originally Posted by rockstar

Oh I agree, don't get me wrong. Pretty poor decision making on his part. He probably just prevented his country from moving any further.

I was just wondering if a call can be reversed afterwards.

The goalie is actually lucky the ball was out of play because if the ball was still in play, this could have been a penalty kick.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by KTown

Good call.

The Czechs are a two type team.

They either

a) Do really well in a tournament, for example Euro 2004, and 96.

or

b) They do really bad in a tournament including some of the greatest choke jobs in history. Euro 2008, WC 06 fall under this category.

In the 2nd they sat on the lead and it cost them. After the 2nd goal Turks opened up, what I would have done is I would sub Koller for a fast, breakaway type striker (Baros or Sverkos). You gotta take advantage of the style your opponent is forced to play, but no, they stopped playing, Koller dissapeared and the rest is history...

[KTown]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

In the 2nd they sat on the lead and it cost them. After the 2nd goal Turks opened up, what I would have done is I would sub Koller for a fast, breakaway type striker (Baros or Sverkos). You gotta take advantage of the style your opponent is forced to play, but no, they stopped playing, Koller dissapeared and the rest is history...

Well the Czechs will have another regime. Coach Bruckner has made it clear he is steppind down after the tournament and it sounded like koller is done too. I think with Rosicky playing it could have been different but its no excuse. It will be interesting to see how the Czechs fair in world cup qualifying because players like Fenin and Svertos will have to step it up, up front.

The problem is the Czechs play so much offensively they don't know how to shut teams down when they do have a 2-0 lead.

Only Sionko is the player I was truly happy with this tournament for the Czechs.

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by rockstar

How is the second-string keeper for Turkey?

Originally Posted by KTown

Croatia is loving every moment of it because the backup keeper will have to play next game.

Rustu, the backup keeper, is 35, very experienced in Turkey and international play, and was named best goalkeeper in the world in 2003.

I don't see much of a drop off, if any, and in fact his experience may be a good calming influence.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

Rustu, the backup keeper, is 35, very experienced in Turkey and international play, and was named best goalkeeper in the world in 2003.

I don't see much of a drop off, if any, and in fact his experience may be a good calming influence.

Have you watched Rustu play? The man is a complete Spaz. I watched him with Besiktas against Liverpool this season in the Champion's league where he played a game making so many mistakes that not only did his team not advance they got their asses handed to them and laughed out of the stadium.

The last thing he will be is a calming influence. He can make some incredible saves, but he usually follows them up with a blunder of stunning quality. Almost 'Cech-like' after this tournament.

Hes also the first person on the field to lose his cool.

It really depends on what mental state he is in that day. Like I said, he can be great or he can be abysmal, he's rarely one or the other for 90 minutes, its usually a mix of both.

[chris_yk]

Originally Posted by KTown

Good call.


In other news Canada beat St. Vincent-Grenades today 3-0 in the first of a back to back or world cup qualifying.

Haha I was listening to that game on St Vincent radio over the net while watching the 2 Euro games, sounded like a good one that could easily have been 5 or 6-0, great for Canada to get off to a good start in the qualifiers.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Portugal B put in a shabby performance and deservedly so lost to the Swiss in a mean nothing game. Portugal dressed a whopping 8 new players from their starting squad and left Ronaldo, Deco, Sima, Carvalho all on the bench. No big deal, they'll be fresh for Thursday.

I can't think of one Portuguese player who was good today. Pepe was alright, I think he's been of the best players for Portugal so far this tourney. But this was a game for some of the non starters to show their stuff, but guys like Quaresma really didn't perform. Nani.....god man, I love you because you wear a Portugal jersey, but Christ, get off the ground man and stop your whining, you're only embarassing yourself and county. Postiga wasn't bad up front and I wouldn't mind seeing him in for Nuno Gomes on Thursday, but that won't happen. Anyways, first place in the group, can't ask for anything else, so I'm happy.

GO AUSTRIA GO!!! Wishful thinking, but I would love to avoid the Germans, but I don't think that's gonna happen.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

Portugal B put in a shabby performance and deservedly so lost to the Swiss in a mean nothing game. Portugal dressed a whopping 8 new players from their starting squad and left Ronaldo, Deco, Sima, Carvalho all on the bench. No big deal, they'll be fresh for Thursday.

I can't think of one Portuguese player who was good today. Pepe was alright, I think he's been of the best players for Portugal so far this tourney. But this was a game for some of the non starters to show their stuff, but guys like Quaresma really didn't perform. Nani.....god man, I love you because you wear a Portugal jersey, but Christ, get off the ground man and stop your whining, you're only embarassing yourself and county. Postiga wasn't bad up front and I wouldn't mind seeing him in for Nuno Gomes on Thursday, but that won't happen. Anyways, first place in the group, can't ask for anything else, so I'm happy.

GO AUSTRIA GO!!! Wishful thinking, but I would love to avoid the Germans, but I don't think that's gonna happen.

Think that was a good idea resting 8 guys? I thought they would try to carry some momentum into the QFs. Think Croatia and Holland will do the same thing?

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Think that was a good idea resting 8 guys? I thought they would try to carry some momentum into the QFs. Think Croatia and Holland will do the same thing?

I don't think they will, and not because Van Basten would rather see Romania than Italy or France, (Champions don't care who they face, and if Van Basten fancies his Oranje to be champions, they'll beat Romania to prove they can and to strike fear in their next opponent) and not because he fancies a return to a Serie A coaching position.

However, I expect a few strategic changes to the starting line-up, but no more than 3-4, and all the starters will be replaced by guys with playing experience in the tournament (like Van Persie and Robben).

Why is it such a dangerous thing to do? Its not easy to tear a team apart and put it back together again, and the team struggling to retain its chemistry could be the razor thin difference between a close win and a close loss. These guys don't play together day in and day out like a club squad, its hard to build true chemistry at this level, and the Dutch have it.

Frankly, if Germany gets their act together, Scolari might rue his decision to field a B squad. Momentum is everything in a brief tournament, and the poor display by the "Bs" may have stalled it.