Not bad, not bad at all.
The group stages of Euro 2008 were pretty bout it, matches involving the defending Greeks aside. We we treated to exciting, free-flowing football with the best players in the world. And maybe that's what stands out the most, it wasn't exactly the players that stood out, but the teams.
Sure, David Villa was brilliant in two matches for Spain and the Dutch brigade of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie all had their moments, but moreover it was the XI players on the field that made the impressions.
If the 2006 World Cup will be remembered for long-range strikes -- Maxi Rodriguez and Joe Cole -- come to mind, Euro 2008 (for now) will be recalled for the team play which led to beautiful counter-attacking goals. It's pretty impressive that only one of the 24 group stage matches ended in a scoreless draw -- thanks a lot France.
Things should only get better as the wheat has been separated from the chaffe, setting up four straight days of gripping knockout quarterfinals.
Again, apologies for the lack of posting here at T.O.P. I hope you've at least moseyed over to Deadspin and read what I've come up with. Honestly, it was too good an opportunity to pass.
Group stage awards:
Best goal: Take your pick on anything from the Dutch. I'd give the edge to Arjen Robben's stunner vs. the French because it came right after a France goal and the angle was simply impossible. Other candidates: Ibrohimovic's bullet vs. Greece; Ballack's blast v. Austria; De Rossi w/Henry v. France; Villa's third v. Russia; Villa v. Spain.
Best player: Wesley Sneijder, the Netherlands. Not going to short-change the pint-sized maestro.
Best team: Croatia, Spain and the Netherlands all went 3-0-0, winning their final group matches with second-choice sides, but the Dutch stand above for smoking Italy and then France.
Best surprise: Turkey. Look, nobody likes the Turks, but you have to respect that comeback for the ages against the Czechs on Sunday. Best game by far.
Best performance: Though he might be loathed in England, like we loath Madden in America, Andy Gray has been stellar for ESPN. He's been so good he brushed the tandem of Rae and Smyth to the back burner.
Best coaching: Tie, Slaven Bilic and Guus Hiddink. Hiddink might get a slight edge, because in a do-or-die game he had his boys absolutely destructed Sweden.
All group stage team: GK: Buffon, Italy; Defenders (3): Zhirkov, Russia; Gabriel Tamaş, Romania; Danijel Pranjić, Croatia; Midfield (4): Sneijder, the Netherlands; Orlando Engelaar, the Netherlands; Arda Turan, Turkey; Libor Sionko, Czech Republic; Forwards (3): David Villa, Spain; Lucas Podolski, Germany, Nihat, Turkey
We'll see how this changes by next Sunday.
Worst performance: France. Nuff said.
Guys who made money: Tamas, Sionko, Snra, Roman Pavlyuchenko (here he comes, Magpies!).
Quarterfinal guessing:
Portugal v. Germany (Thursday)-- Most figured this would be a semifinal, instead it's a quarter. Nearly impossible to read this one. Portugal looked good, not great, in wins over Turkey and the Czech Republic, while Germany hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. Given another life, though, Die Germans have as good a chance as anyone to win the tournament. The Portuguese have a lot more (pieces of) flair and individual gusto than the Germans. You wonder if Big Phil goes back to his hard-man roots and fields a team with a little more grit to match against the stronger opponent. Germany is going to do what it does, and expect Miroslav Klose to find the net at least once. Joachim Loew (banned from the sideline, cue Sam Allardyce headset) ought to consider Kevin Kuranyi in this one. Really, this one probably boils down to the two star-men, Ronaldo and Ballack. We've seen Ballack pull Germany up by its scruff many times, can Ronaldo do the same? Portugal's going to have to get creative to score, because they're not winning too much from Christoph Metzelder and Per Mertesacker. Ronaldo's going to have to pepper from distance, or via freekick. This one has overtime shootout written all over it. ... Portugal 1, Germany 2 (PKs)
Croatia v. Turkey (Friday) -- Though neither side is among the traditional powers of the game, it's a good pairing since it ensures one 'outsider' makes the semifinals. The intrigue here is the Croats went 3-0-0 in the group with a lot of skill all over the field, meanwhile the Turks twice rallied from one-goal deficits and got by on a lot of heart. Turkey coach Fatim Terim needs to reinvent the team again, missing keeper Volkan Demeril and midfielder Mehmet Aurelio. Nihat and Tuncay both need to play another tireless 90+ minutes to keep Croatia unsettled in the back, otherwise the Hrvatska passing might be too much. ... Croatia 2, Turkey 0
Netherlands v. Russia (Saturday) -- The prospect here of the pseudo 1988 Euro final rematch...oh man. Don't count out the Russians, if only for Guus Hiddink. The Dutch are always known for their lack of mental toughness and fragility. The specter of Hiddink on the touchline could screw up the Dutch. He'll know then inside out, since he is in fact Dutch and coached at PSV from 2002-2005. Arjen Robben, Wilfred Bouma, Andre Oojer, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Ibrahim Afellay all played under Hiddink at PSV. Is this overstating things? No. The Dutch as a nation are neurotic and they'll have all their fingernails biten away worrying about Hiddink possibly derailing this magical run. At times on Wednesday, Russia looked downright Dutch and an upset here isn't out of the realm of possibility. It's cliche, but in Guus we Truust. ... Netherlands 1, Russia 2
Spain v. Italy (Sunday)-- Awesome. Use whatever adjectives you want to describe this one. If you enjoy 'continental' football, this is your match. There shouldn't be any scrubs out there, and one-touch passing will be the rule of the day. Neither side's defense can be called rock-solid, and the Italians are missing Gattuso and Pirlo, which might not be a bad thing in this match. Spain is another mentally fragile team, but this is a match it should win on the strength of Villa and Torres. The only chance Italy has is if it breaks the mold and maybe plays a longball tactics to Luca Toni, continually throwing his big frame at the Spanish wall hoping he eventually breaks through. If the Italians play a passing game, the Spanish midfield is just too strong. ... Spain 2, Italy 1
(Some more Euro stuff and a little on Barbados round II pending.)
The group stages of Euro 2008 were pretty bout it, matches involving the defending Greeks aside. We we treated to exciting, free-flowing football with the best players in the world. And maybe that's what stands out the most, it wasn't exactly the players that stood out, but the teams.
Sure, David Villa was brilliant in two matches for Spain and the Dutch brigade of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie all had their moments, but moreover it was the XI players on the field that made the impressions.
If the 2006 World Cup will be remembered for long-range strikes -- Maxi Rodriguez and Joe Cole -- come to mind, Euro 2008 (for now) will be recalled for the team play which led to beautiful counter-attacking goals. It's pretty impressive that only one of the 24 group stage matches ended in a scoreless draw -- thanks a lot France.
Things should only get better as the wheat has been separated from the chaffe, setting up four straight days of gripping knockout quarterfinals.
Again, apologies for the lack of posting here at T.O.P. I hope you've at least moseyed over to Deadspin and read what I've come up with. Honestly, it was too good an opportunity to pass.
Group stage awards:
Best goal: Take your pick on anything from the Dutch. I'd give the edge to Arjen Robben's stunner vs. the French because it came right after a France goal and the angle was simply impossible. Other candidates: Ibrohimovic's bullet vs. Greece; Ballack's blast v. Austria; De Rossi w/Henry v. France; Villa's third v. Russia; Villa v. Spain.
Best player: Wesley Sneijder, the Netherlands. Not going to short-change the pint-sized maestro.
Best team: Croatia, Spain and the Netherlands all went 3-0-0, winning their final group matches with second-choice sides, but the Dutch stand above for smoking Italy and then France.
Best surprise: Turkey. Look, nobody likes the Turks, but you have to respect that comeback for the ages against the Czechs on Sunday. Best game by far.
Best performance: Though he might be loathed in England, like we loath Madden in America, Andy Gray has been stellar for ESPN. He's been so good he brushed the tandem of Rae and Smyth to the back burner.
Best coaching: Tie, Slaven Bilic and Guus Hiddink. Hiddink might get a slight edge, because in a do-or-die game he had his boys absolutely destructed Sweden.
All group stage team: GK: Buffon, Italy; Defenders (3): Zhirkov, Russia; Gabriel Tamaş, Romania; Danijel Pranjić, Croatia; Midfield (4): Sneijder, the Netherlands; Orlando Engelaar, the Netherlands; Arda Turan, Turkey; Libor Sionko, Czech Republic; Forwards (3): David Villa, Spain; Lucas Podolski, Germany, Nihat, Turkey
We'll see how this changes by next Sunday.
Worst performance: France. Nuff said.
Guys who made money: Tamas, Sionko, Snra, Roman Pavlyuchenko (here he comes, Magpies!).
Quarterfinal guessing:
Portugal v. Germany (Thursday)-- Most figured this would be a semifinal, instead it's a quarter. Nearly impossible to read this one. Portugal looked good, not great, in wins over Turkey and the Czech Republic, while Germany hasn't exactly lit the world on fire. Given another life, though, Die Germans have as good a chance as anyone to win the tournament. The Portuguese have a lot more (pieces of) flair and individual gusto than the Germans. You wonder if Big Phil goes back to his hard-man roots and fields a team with a little more grit to match against the stronger opponent. Germany is going to do what it does, and expect Miroslav Klose to find the net at least once. Joachim Loew (banned from the sideline, cue Sam Allardyce headset) ought to consider Kevin Kuranyi in this one. Really, this one probably boils down to the two star-men, Ronaldo and Ballack. We've seen Ballack pull Germany up by its scruff many times, can Ronaldo do the same? Portugal's going to have to get creative to score, because they're not winning too much from Christoph Metzelder and Per Mertesacker. Ronaldo's going to have to pepper from distance, or via freekick. This one has overtime shootout written all over it. ... Portugal 1, Germany 2 (PKs)
Croatia v. Turkey (Friday) -- Though neither side is among the traditional powers of the game, it's a good pairing since it ensures one 'outsider' makes the semifinals. The intrigue here is the Croats went 3-0-0 in the group with a lot of skill all over the field, meanwhile the Turks twice rallied from one-goal deficits and got by on a lot of heart. Turkey coach Fatim Terim needs to reinvent the team again, missing keeper Volkan Demeril and midfielder Mehmet Aurelio. Nihat and Tuncay both need to play another tireless 90+ minutes to keep Croatia unsettled in the back, otherwise the Hrvatska passing might be too much. ... Croatia 2, Turkey 0
Netherlands v. Russia (Saturday) -- The prospect here of the pseudo 1988 Euro final rematch...oh man. Don't count out the Russians, if only for Guus Hiddink. The Dutch are always known for their lack of mental toughness and fragility. The specter of Hiddink on the touchline could screw up the Dutch. He'll know then inside out, since he is in fact Dutch and coached at PSV from 2002-2005. Arjen Robben, Wilfred Bouma, Andre Oojer, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Ibrahim Afellay all played under Hiddink at PSV. Is this overstating things? No. The Dutch as a nation are neurotic and they'll have all their fingernails biten away worrying about Hiddink possibly derailing this magical run. At times on Wednesday, Russia looked downright Dutch and an upset here isn't out of the realm of possibility. It's cliche, but in Guus we Truust. ... Netherlands 1, Russia 2
Spain v. Italy (Sunday)-- Awesome. Use whatever adjectives you want to describe this one. If you enjoy 'continental' football, this is your match. There shouldn't be any scrubs out there, and one-touch passing will be the rule of the day. Neither side's defense can be called rock-solid, and the Italians are missing Gattuso and Pirlo, which might not be a bad thing in this match. Spain is another mentally fragile team, but this is a match it should win on the strength of Villa and Torres. The only chance Italy has is if it breaks the mold and maybe plays a longball tactics to Luca Toni, continually throwing his big frame at the Spanish wall hoping he eventually breaks through. If the Italians play a passing game, the Spanish midfield is just too strong. ... Spain 2, Italy 1
(Some more Euro stuff and a little on Barbados round II pending.)
Good wrap. I think Romania/France wasn't pretty to watch.
Nice to see your "all group stage team" running the unconventional 3-4-2 scheme. Was someone sent off before the game started? Was it Servet Cetin (Turkey, D) or Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands, F)?
Kidding aside, this is the best EURO update on the web.
hope you'll apologize on Deadspin for underestimating the russkies. They sucked against Spain, but they have been one of the more entertaining teams thus far. But they are incredibly wasteful.
You should go to Wikipedia and try to find some of the flags that can be seen in the stands. The old imperial double-eagle is everywhere (probably because it's on the team's badges), and have you seen the black, yellow and white flags? Those represent the Romanov family. Euro 2008: where reviving dead dynasties happen.
Monty, thanks. I knew something was amiss.
Eriol, I picked Russia to win today.
What about Nihat's winner for best goal? Great finish plus there was a little bit on the line at that point.
Netherlands vs. Russia could easily go 5+ goals, same with a Dutch vs. Spain quarterfinals. None of these teams try to defensively protect a lead. It should be wild.
Great work on both deadspin and here, keep it up.