Euro 2008 - UEFA

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by vodafone_b

Hi all,

Big soccer fan here.. can't wait for the game to start this weekend..
I am a huge spain fan..... must be because my favorite EPL team is liverpool
torres and alonso are my men.. i think they have a great chance this year..
but like every year.. people say that about spain for pretty much every major tournament.. and every year they manage to underachieve.. i really hope they will show their true potential this year..

torres, alonso (please don't go to JUVE!!), villa, xavi, ineista, cesc...... just to name a few.. and their defence is one of the better ones at the back puyol, sergio is having a fine season at madrid, and an outstanding goalie at the back with casillas....

anyways..after all my praise for them.. i have a feeling it will be the usual spain this year at the euros haha.. what do you guys think? (i really hope i am wrong!)

i see a couple of huge portgual fans here.. great team.. young team! CR and Quaresma are awesome.. and with nani on the bench too.. the wing is stack.. but i think the main weakness is the striker position.. there's no natural true striker on the team.. if rely on goals from midfields..... it could be a tough one for portgual..

so who do you guys think the dark horse in the tournament would be?
i say croatia.. they can easily get through their group.... and they have the quality and work ethics.. the other one i pick is russia.. they have a good coach..

Spain is really talented this time but their coach is insane. He has a striker like Torres who is fast and great in the air, yet he will continue to play the ball slowly on the ground. Torres will become very frustrated.

And as a Liverpool fan you have to agree with me that Kuyt is rubbish

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by vodafone_b

so who do you guys think the dark horse in the tournament would be?
i say croatia.. they can easily get through their group.... and they have the quality and work ethics.. the other one i pick is russia.. they have a good coach..

I dunno about Croatia. They are without pretty much their best player. Eduardo breaking his leg just threw any Croatia chances out the window. If I had to choose a dark horse to win it, which I don't think will happen, I say the Turks. Sounds a little crazy, but from what I have seen from them, they look half decent. But I would be shocked if they get by a qtr final. But I do have them getting out of the group along with Portugal.

[vodafone_b]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Spain is really talented this time but their coach is insane. He has a striker like Torres who is fast and great in the air, yet he will continue to play the ball slowly on the ground. Torres will become very frustrated.

And as a Liverpool fan you have to agree with me that Kuyt is rubbish

I have to agree with you there.. Kuyt is rubbish.. beyond rubbish..
he is hard working alright.. he has the work ethic of like 10 strikers combined.. i swear i see him all over the pitch when he plays for liverpool.. from one end of the goal line to the other.. i admire that... BUT
but i rather have a striker that has half.. maybe even 1/4 of his work ethic.. and score...... GOALS.. i swear he bags 10 goals a season and he's happy..
and he now plays right winger for liverpool in the 4-2-1-2-1 formation.. because rafa knows he can't buy a goal!!!!

torres deserves a good strike partner.. can you imagine if he has someone like Villa with him at liverpool?.. (and no I do not count crouch as a world class striker).....

[KTown]

Originally Posted by Locke

First of all, I'll agree that the Czechs deserve more respect than that, but lets be honest, they should have put Jan Koller out to pasture already and the fact that they havent is due to not having anyone in a striker role to really replace him.

Secondly, I dont look too much into Qualifying games. When the Czechs beat Germany both teams were already well qualified for the tournament, so the motivation really wasnt there. Hell, Germany qualified 10 points ahead of the next nearest team and the Czechs 12, its not like they were fighting for every last point and frankly, winning the group or being in second really doesnt mean anything.

If you want to look at qualifiers, how about when the table was wide open and points were important and the Czechs lost 2-1 to a lazy German team in Czech.

That being said, I expect the Czechs to go through to the next round. It would be nice if Switzerland went through at home, but I dont think they have the quality to do it. Not compared to the Portuguese or the Czechs.

Turkey could well go through, but I sure hope not.

I don't know if Koller is done yet, this may be his last go at it. He's a big man in the middle and I still think on set plays it's really hard to defend him. Only time will tell, less than 48 hours till the fun begins. I can't wait.

PVR is ready for all the midday games. I just have to isolate myself from the world till I get home from work during the week.

I don't think Nedved is done, he could still definately play and dominate. It's too bad he doesn't have the heart anymore.

Rosicky's injury is the one that bothers me the most, he was a rock for Arsenal this year in the middle.

Oh yeah as per qualifying games alot of the great teams had trouble in certain qualifying games against weak teams, it happens.

[vodafone_b]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

I dunno about Croatia. They are without pretty much their best player. Eduardo breaking his leg just threw any Croatia chances out the window. If I had to choose a dark horse to win it, which I don't think will happen, I say the Turks. Sounds a little crazy, but from what I have seen from them, they look half decent. But I would be shocked if they get by a qtr final. But I do have them getting out of the group along with Portugal.

really? the turks? they haven't achieve anything except the magical run back in WC2002.... but i guess anything can happen at euro!
croatia without eduardo is still a good team.. sometimes these injury helps spark the team to win it for that player..

[Locke]

Nice to see another scouser fan.

Spain is Spain. They have the tools, they have the talent, can they put it together? Every tournament thats the question to answer.

Spain, even moreso than the Netherlands, is the ultimate wildcard. Who knows what you'll get.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by vodafone_b

really? the turks? they haven't achieve anything except the magical run back in WC2002.... but i guess anything can happen at euro!
croatia without eduardo is still a good team.. sometimes these injury helps spark the team to win it for that player..

Glad to see another Croatian fan

Although I agree, the loss of De Silva is huge, you never know what can happen. I'm taking it game by game.

[Bill Bumface]

I've got my tickets for the quarter final between the winner of C vs the runner of D. I'm pretty freaking excited!

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by Mango

Glad to see another Croatian fan

Although I agree, the loss of De Silva is huge, you never know what can happen. I'm taking it game by game.

I'm another Croatian fan, half Portuguese, half Croatian. I just don't think they are gonna do much this year, but I hope and pray that I'm wrong. Nothing would be better to see the Croats make a long run like in 98 WC with Davor Suker!!! I loved that dude!

[troutman]

In my pool, I have Spain beating Germany in the final 2-1.

Spain over France, and Germany over Portugal in the semifinals.

And, Italy not getting out of Group C (Netherlands will)!

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by vodafone_b

Hi all,

Big soccer fan here.. can't wait for the game to start this weekend..
I am a huge spain fan..... must be because my favorite EPL team is liverpool
torres and alonso are my men.. i think they have a great chance this year..
but like every year.. people say that about spain for pretty much every major tournament.. and every year they manage to underachieve.. i really hope they will show their true potential this year..

torres, alonso (please don't go to JUVE!!), villa, xavi, ineista, cesc...... just to name a few.. and their defence is one of the better ones at the back puyol, sergio is having a fine season at madrid, and an outstanding goalie at the back with casillas....

anyways..after all my praise for them.. i have a feeling it will be the usual spain this year at the euros haha.. what do you guys think? (i really hope i am wrong!)

I'm guessing you don't want Alonso leave because you're a Liverpool fan, but at the same time, if you're a Spain fan, wouldn't you want Alonso to get out of Gerrard's shadow and be displayed as a #1 midfielder in the Champions League? (I think they're nuts swapping Xabi Alonso for Gareth Barry, but Juve is happy to take him off their hands)

As for Spain's chances... they come out of a relatively easy group, so they should come out flying. They have good depth in every position, so they should go far. Spain and Portugal play with passion moreso than any other team, and that is typically their undoing in big games. If they can stay cohesive and calm, either team can win it.

Personally, I don't see the love for Holland... that team is built to get knocked out by big opponents, and unfortunately for them, they drew the wrong group. That defense couldn't repel a mid-table club, let alone what France, Italy and maybe even Romania can throw at it. I simply despise France, so I hope the Dutch knock them out, but all three Group C superpowers are weaker than usual.

[Jagger]

This is probably the first time ever that I'm pulling for Spain, for obvious reasons of course. With that said, they have a long history of choking in major tournaments and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it happens again. Hope not though.

As for Kuyt being rubbish I would disagree with that assessment, especially in the latter part of the season. He had major family issues that seemed to be affecting his confidence early on. Since he was switched to a midfield role he really excelled. He is much better in that role than as a striker where, I will agree, he is rubbish. Nobody works harder than Kuyt, nobody.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

I'm another Croatian fan, half Portuguese, half Croatian. I just don't think they are gonna do much this year, but I hope and pray that I'm wrong. Nothing would be better to see the Croats make a long run like in 98 WC with Davor Suker!!! I loved that dude!

Those were the days
I think it helps having an emotional coach like Bilic on the bench, because he really seems to spark the boys like no coach has done in a very long time. I'd love to see them make it out of group play, but of course, who knows.

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by Mango

Those were the days
I think it helps having an emotional coach like Bilic on the bench, because he really seems to spark the boys like no coach has done in a very long time. I'd love to see them make it out of group play, but of course, who knows.

croatia is gonna have a solid tourney, they look like such a solid side.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by ricoFlame

croatia is gonna have a solid tourney, they look like such a solid side.

I think it all depends on how the react to the loss of De Silva. I know he'll be there cheering the team on from the sidelines. Hopefully, they'll be running on a bit of emotion from that.

[vodafone_b]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

I'm guessing you don't want Alonso leave because you're a Liverpool fan, but at the same time, if you're a Spain fan, wouldn't you want Alonso to get out of Gerrard's shadow and be displayed as a #1 midfielder in the Champions League? (I think they're nuts swapping Xabi Alonso for Gareth Barry, but Juve is happy to take him off their hands)

As for Spain's chances... they come out of a relatively easy group, so they should come out flying. They have good depth in every position, so they should go far. Spain and Portugal play with passion moreso than any other team, and that is typically their undoing in big games. If they can stay cohesive and calm, either team can win it.

Personally, I don't see the love for Holland... that team is built to get knocked out by big opponents, and unfortunately for them, they drew the wrong group. That defense couldn't repel a mid-table club, let alone what France, Italy and maybe even Romania can throw at it. I simply despise France, so I hope the Dutch knock them out, but all three Group C superpowers are weaker than usual.

I guess having alonso leave to the serie A is better than him going to rival EPL club.. because he's too good of a player to let go.... he will be great at the champions league.. Juve guys are lucky.. getting momo and alonso together.. thats pretty much the midfield of last year's liverpool.. and they have great success together playing in the CL.. they allow gerrard plays a free-role behind the striker without back tracking to help out much on defence....

barry just not the same player.. but he is good with gerrard (see England).. better than fat lamps.. but then rafa really do not need to let go of alonso just to get barry.. barry can play left or right wing (which at the right wing liverpool desperately need a player, no kuyt please)..

Holland defence is questionable.. they have major firepower.. but in these knockout tournaments.. you need to have defence to win.. a lucky break here and there will get you through.. but I do see them advancing from their group.. along with Italy.... I despise france as well..... even more than Italy.... But Italy are always do good at tournaments.. so I take them and the dutch to go through

[vodafone_b]

Originally Posted by Jagger

This is probably the first time ever that I'm pulling for Spain, for obvious reasons of course. With that said, they have a long history of choking in major tournaments and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it happens again. Hope not though.

As for Kuyt being rubbish I would disagree with that assessment, especially in the latter part of the season. He had major family issues that seemed to be affecting his confidence early on. Since he was switched to a midfield role he really excelled. He is much better in that role than as a striker where, I will agree, he is rubbish. Nobody works harder than Kuyt, nobody.

Spain lacks the killer instinct.... they have all the talent in the world.. but they always underachieve at the world stage.. hopefully i am wrong this year..

kuyt is an admirable striker.. his work ethics are unbelivable.... but he's paid to score goals.. not on the wings.... i just wish he has some goals to show for his work ethics.. sometimes I feel sorry for the guy.. his goal against chelsea at the CL, i thought he turned it around, until that poor own goal by riise (btw, as much as i love riise and his rockets, he can leave.. you do not demand more wages when you pretty much ruin your club of reaching the CL final)

[KTown]

It's officially on. Let the games begin,

GO CZECHS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ricoFlame]

hey hey, we're underway! good stuff, the swiss have looked good thus far into the first half.

[KTown]

Originally Posted by ricoFlame

hey hey, we're underway! good stuff, the swiss have looked good thus far into the first half.

Czechs controlled the play most of the half excludign the first 10 - 15 minutes, but the swiss have been on Greece style lockdown on defence. Having trouble finding a hole, this is what scares me because as we saw the counter attack was open for the Swiss.