Euro 2008

[Dark Horse]

Holland - Denmark friendly.

Holland played well in 1st half: 1-0.
Very uninspired in 2H: 1-1 with half hour to go.

[nasdaq888]

Holland - Denmark friendly.

Holland played well in 1st half: 1-0.
Very uninspired in 2H: 1-1 with half hour to go.

Full time score 1-1. I watched the match on TV. The Dutch looked shaky in the central defence. I think they need to sort that out before EURO 2008.

[Dark Horse]

They don't have the players in defense. Nobody in the back four is European top. Team is heavily weighted towards offense. Lack of balance, and lack on leadership on the field. I don't see them winning Euro2008.

[nasdaq888]

Yes you correct Dark Horse. The Dutch achilles heel seems to be their defence. The Dutch defence are a bit slow with the likes of Ooijer, Bouma, etc. However, the Dutch have lots of offensive weapons with van Nistelrooy, Babel, Kuyt, Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder and van der Vaart. A fully fit Van Persie would be a big asset to the Dutch. The trouble is he is still not fully match fit and he has missed almost the whole of last season for Arsenal.

Well regarding the lack of leadership on the field, I think the Dutch will miss both Seedorf and van Bommel. They could have provided the team with some leadership especially Seedorf who seems to be a steadying influence in midfield whenever he plays.

[Dark Horse]

Van der Vaart could step up as leader on the field (although a little difficult with Sneyder on the field as well; they're too similar), but off the field he's not the verbal type. The only time Holland won a tournament (Euro 88) the whole team was on the same page. They were having fun as a group off the field and were happy to be together. Van Basten is not going to inspire that type of team spirit.

I look at the lineup and I see too many players who are excellent with the ball, and not enough players who are great without the ball. They need a player like Davids in midfield to close the gaps, and a big scary guy like Stam in central D. Without those type of players they're too soft.

They may play some beautiful games and score some beautiful goals, but when things don't go their way they will lack the power to turn it around.


(I've seen this somewhere before...
.... Ahhh!!
The Phoenix Suns!!)

[nasdaq888]

The Dutch team of 1988 had several excellent players like Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, the Koeman brothers, Wouters, etc. I also believe Van Basten will not be able to unite and inspire the team.....and just a few days ago it was reported that van Nistelrooy came out and said that Van Basten is not his friend. The Dutch tend to have bouts of infighting in their squad during a major tournament. During the 1998 World Cup, it was reported that the Dutch players were segregated into 2 separate camps.....white and black.

Edgar Davids (nicknamed Pitbull) was a ball winner. You are right by saying that the Dutch lacked ball winners on the field and also players to plug the gaps in midfield.

Holland will be playing another international friendly vs Wales on June 1.

[expl]

Does anyone here have the squad list of the German team? I cant seems to find a decent list. So far this is all I have.

Miroslav Klose
Robert Enke
Philipp Lahm
Marcell Jansen
Heiko Westermann
Simon Rolfes
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Mario Gómez
Oliver Neuville
Michael Ballack
Kevin Kuranyi
Per Mertesacker
Tim Borowski
Lukas Podolski
Clemens Fritz
René Adler
Jens Lehmann

[ppdougla]

all final squad lists are up at the official euro 2008 site...germany squad is as follows:

GK: Lehmann, Adler, Enke
DEF: Jansen, Freidrich, Fritz, Westermann, Lahm, Mertesacker, Metzelder
MID:Rolfes, Schwiensteiger, Frings, Ballack, Trochowski, Hitzlsperger, Borowski
ATT: Klose, Kuranyi, Gomez, Podolski, Odonkor, Neuville

[ppdougla]

and btw to everyone talking about the Dutch...Babel has been ruled out by injury, Boulahrouz called up as a replacement...not a big loss IMO, Babel was never going to get time over their other attacking options, and their back line can use all they help they can get

[vanman]

Germany for me.
Always well prepared,no inhouse fighting like the Dutch and French,they might not have the best individual players but they sure as hell know how to play as a team.

[Rosa]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse
Are you from Italy, Rosa? That would be cool; to keep us up to date. A guy like me doesn't get very far in the Gazzetta.


edit:
(huh, never realized they had an English section: http://english.gazzetta.it)

I am Australian from Sicilian heritage. So I have followed the Italian National Team forever and I would like to think I know a little about them. Over the last couple of days I am starting to change my mind, I think anyone can win this years Euro. No team really stands out to me. I just don't trust Donadoni as a good enough coach to win it. Ambrosini, Gatusso, Pirlo in the midfield. That makes me feel sick just thinking about it. I acually support AC Milan but look how bad we played this season. I would like to see them all on the bench.

I heard a couple of days ago that France dropped Flamini. How pathetic. That is a huge mistake.

[mundane]

i placed a bet on spain $25 - 5/1 odds. and then LOST the ticket!

shld i place another one? or is it a loser anyways?

[nasdaq888]

I am Australian from Sicilian heritage. So I have followed the Italian National Team forever and I would like to think I know a little about them. Over the last couple of days I am starting to change my mind, I think anyone can win this years Euro. No team really stands out to me. I just don't trust Donadoni as a good enough coach to win it. Ambrosini, Gatusso, Pirlo in the midfield. That makes me feel sick just thinking about it. I acually support AC Milan but look how bad we played this season. I would like to see them all on the bench.

I heard a couple of days ago that France dropped Flamini. How pathetic. That is a huge mistake.

Flamini has been called back into the French squad as a backup to Patrick Vieira due to the latter's fitness concerns.

By Bertrand Boucey

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) - Midfielder Mathieu Flamini has been called up to the French squad for the Euro 2008 finals following concerns over the fitness of captain Patrick Vieira.

“Flamini is arriving today at Clairefontaine (France’s training camp) and is added to the 23-man squad,” team spokesman Yann Le Guillard said on Monday.

Le Guillard added that no player had pulled out yet as France have until June 8, one day before their Group C opener against Romania, to make changes to their squad in case of an injury.

Vieira has not played in his side’s last two warm-up games against Ecuador and Paraguay. He left a training session on Friday with a suspected left thigh injury.

France coach Raymond Domenech declined to comment on Vieira’s situation.

Flamini, who is set to join AC Milan from Arsenal on July 1, had been included in a provisional 30-man squad but had been left out of the final 23-man squad last week.

Le Guillard added that the player would travel to Switzerland with the squad on Wednesday.

[Dark Horse]

I am Australian from Sicilian heritage. So I have followed the Italian National Team forever and I would like to think I know a little about them. Over the last couple of days I am starting to change my mind, I think anyone can win this years Euro. No team really stands out to me.

Picking a winner is very hard this year. If a lack of quality is the overriding factor Germany might get the nod.

My early leans to make the next round (green is in, red is out):

Czech Republic
Portugal
Switzerland
Turkey

Remaining choice:
Czech Republic is very dangerous, but I'm thinking one of the home teams reaches the next round (and it's not going to be Austria).

Poland
Austria
Croatia
Germany

Remaining choice:
Croatia should be able to edge out Poland.

Italy
Holland
Romania
France

Remaining choice:
The group of death. Anything is possible here. I lean towards fading France, which means Italy and Holland move on. Romania is better than many think, but they don't know what it takes to win on a big stage.

Spain
Russia
Greece
Sweden

Remaining choice:
Russia, under 'lucky' Hiddink, should beat out Sweden.

[aca]

my reiting list before Euro (1-10 scale)!

Spain 7.5
Holland 7
Italy 6.5
Czech Republic 6
Portugal 6
Croatia 6
France 6
Romania 5.5
Germany 5.5
Switzerland 5
Greece 5
Turkey 4.5
Sweden 4
Russia 3.5
Poland 3
Austria 2

[Dark Horse]

my reiting list before Euro (1-10 scale)!

Spain 7.5
Holland 7
Italy 6.5
Czech Republic 6
Portugal 6
Croatia 6
France 6
Romania 5.5
Germany 5.5
Switzerland 5
Greece 5
Turkey 4.5
Sweden 4
Russia 3.5
Poland 3
Austria 2

Nice!

Mine:

Portugal
Spain
Germany
Holland
Czech Republic
Italy
Switzerland
France
Russia
Romania
Croatia
Sweden
Greece
Poland
Turkey
Austria

[Rosa]

Guys you might be underestimating France's squad this year. Dark Horse, Switzerland before France. C'mon, you really think so? I just read that Flamini has been called up again because Viera will be injuired for the opening fixture. They have alot of depth, some great young players and you never know with France.

On with the Czech Republic. I don't think their squad has Euro winning potential (unless they play like greece, score one goal and defend like crazy for the whole match). They have one of the best keepers in the world and Milan Baros who only seems to score when he is playing in his national colours, Jankulovski who didn't have a great season, Jan Koller and Rozehnal. Rosicky is injuired, no more Nedved. Do they really have a chance?

[Dark Horse]

Switzerland plays at home. That's big. Plus France is in group of death. That's pretty big.

Czech Rep is still very solid, with tons of experience and a core that's been together for a long time. Teams with less experience better bring the extra quality against the Czechs, and we've already agreed that the tournament lacks that extra spark in quality.

But I can't have it both ways. If Portugal goes through, either Switzerland or Czech Republic is eliminated. Difficult group.

[libbert]

I have just placed my first bet on the EURO2008.

Prediction: Italy not to qualify to the quarter final.

To lay Italy to qualify is 1.51.

This prediction is mostly a hunch, but Italy didn´t play very in the Qualifying round. Also they didn´t qualify at the EURO2004.

/Libbert

[akerber]

hey guys, what do you think about this lines?

Portugal -0.5 x Turkia (odds 1.781) or Portugal -0.5 -1 (odds 2.110)
Alemanha -1 x Polonia (odds 1.893)
Franca -0.5 x Romenia (odds 1.870)

I am thinking to bet around 800 U$ each game. What do you think about this?

[Dark Horse]

I haven't capped individual games yet, but I like Portugal -0.5. Turkey is the weakest in the group. First round is often a lot of chess, calculated play for the necessary points, but with strong competition in the group from Switzerland and Czech Republic Portugal has to go for the win here.

[expl]

Nice!

Mine:

Portugal
Spain
Germany
Holland
Czech Republic
Italy
Switzerland
France
Russia
Romania
Croatia
Sweden
Greece
Poland
Turkey
Austria

nice, mine's this:

Holland
Germany
Portugal
Czech Republic
France
Spain
Italy
Sweden
Switzerland
Russia
Greece
Croatia
Romania
Poland
Austria
Turkey

[Erdal]

Group A

Turkey surprise team

Portugal - TURKEY draw

Switzerland-TURKEY TURKEY win

Czech Republic- TURKEY draw or TURKEY win

1)TURKEY
2)portugal
3)czech Republic
4)switzerland

or

1)portugal
2)TURKEY
3)czech Republic
4)switzerland

TURKEY:good team,good footballer
example TURKEY tournament explosion :
ARDA TURAN(GALATASARAY)euro 2008 most good footballer)
SERVET ÇETİN(GALATASARAY)defense perfect
NİHAT KAHVECİ (VİLLAREAL)perfect to finish
TURKEY at least quarter final

[Dark Horse]

You're from Turkey.

Nothing wrong with that, but fans and capping mix like a Molotov cocktail.

[Dark Horse]

I need some help with this. I've found that international teams with players that have already won big international prizes (preferably at club level!) bring a 'know-how-to-win' quality to the field. So I want to rate each country accordingly. National club championships don't count. Has to be a CL winner or something of that nature. So the question is: how many of such players does each team have?

For instance, I look at the Dutch, without Seedorf, and I only see VD Sar, winner of a couple of CL's. But let's not include goalies. I want to know this information with an eye on forcing the win upon an opponent, and goalies don't do that. How many 'winners' can each nation field?
(was Van Nistelrooy with ManU when they won the 1999 CL?)

[Erdal]

You're from Turkey.

Nothing wrong with that, but fans and capping mix like a Molotov cocktail.

see you euro 2008 gruop matches

[Dark Horse]

Holland making strong statement in Group of Death with a 3-0 demolition of Italia.

That was sweet.

[adriano]

Congrats on your boys win DH.

[Dark Horse]

Thanks!

[Dark Horse]

Nice!

Mine:

Portugal
Spain
Germany
Holland
Czech Republic
Italy
Switzerland
France
Russia
Romania
Croatia
Sweden
Greece
Poland
Turkey
Austria

How did these power rankings do in round one?

Czech Rep - Switzerland 1-0 <=
Portugal - Turkey 2-0 <=
Croatia - Austria 1-0 <=
Germany - Poland 2-0 <=
France - Romania 0-0
Holland - Italy 3-0 <=
Spain - Russia 4-1 <=
Sweden - Greece 2-0 <=

Seven out of eight.

[Dark Horse]

Round two starts tomorrow. Adjust power rankings or stay with pre tournament rankings?

[McBa1n]

I'd stay with pre-tournie rankings IMO. They are pretty solid. I don't think there's been any real surprises other than Italy. Austria's play against Croatia showed something - but again - it's against Croatia. Group phases rarely deviate much. 1 or 2 teams tops surprise it seems like.

[Dark Horse]

You're probably right, but it's an interesting question in general. For instance, I would somewhat lower Holland in rankings for their next game, because their win against Italy came too easy. There needs to be a building process during a tournament. That game did nothing for them in terms of overcoming adversity, developing resilience, and becoming battle tested. If it's too easy early on, then, in the knock out stages, there's nothing to fall back on when things get tough. Along the same lines I think that, for a strong team, a loss in the group stage can be a plus towards team building.

[Dark Horse]

Portugal - Czech Republic 3-1 <=
Switzerland - Turkey 1-2

Not that hard to predict the winner in many cases, but we're talking three way results (win-loss-draw), so 8 out of 10 based on power rankings is sweet.

I rated Switzerland too high. Should have adjusted them after round 1. Not even home field advantage could lift them. Horrible technique and ball control. People from mountainous countries would probably chuckle in a similar way at the unnatural movements of folks who picked up skiing later in life.

Portugal continues to impress. They continue to be my tournament favorites.

[Dark Horse]

Round 3 is the most diluted in terms of power rankings. After two rounds the four group winners are already known, so Portugal, Croatia, Holland, and Spain have nothing to play for in round 3, making them likely to rest key players. Of these four, Portugal and Spain will be playing teams that are already eliminated.

In today's game Turkey and Czech Republic are tied on points and goal differential, with the winner going through. So these teams will probably be conservative, trying not to concede the all important first goal. Plus, in case of a tied game, they will not need to force a winner in regulation, with overtime on the table. Under 2.5 goals looks good.



-------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-tournament power rankings.

Portugal
Spain
Germany
Holland
Czech Republic
Italy
Switzerland
France
Russia
Romania
Croatia
Sweden
Greece
Poland
Turkey
Austria

Round 1
Czech Rep - Switzerland 1-0 <=
Portugal - Turkey 2-0 <=
Croatia - Austria 1-0 <=
Germany - Poland 2-0 <=
France - Romania 0-0
Holland - Italy 3-0 <=
Spain - Russia 4-1 <=
Sweden - Greece 2-0 <=

Round 2
Portugal - Czech Rep 3-1 <=
Switzerland - Turkey 1-2
Germany - Croatia 1-2
Poland - Austria 1-1
Italy - Romania 1-1
Holland - France 4-1 <=
Spain - Sweden 2-1 <=
Russia - Greece 1-0 <=

7 out of 8 in round 1
4 out of 8 in round 2
Three-way results, so winning odds are > +100.