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Ummm I hope that was sarcasm or something because there's no third place game in the Euro competition.

 

 

Congrats to the Germans and hats off to the Turks who played with their hearts to the bitter end. Great team spirit and IMO most entertaining team of the tournament.

 

Now off to Vienna for another draw that ends in penalties...stupid curse...

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Ummm I hope that was sarcasm or something because there's no third place game in the Euro competition.

 

yes indeed.

 

Is it just me or have pretty much every team lost the ability to defend! Even Italy, (of course without cannavaro) had their defensive WTF moments.

 

Its funny how commentators are describing Germany's win tonight as a 'sigh of relief' .. lolz. Obviously not a performance to hang your hat on. I'd shudder to think what Kaiser Beckenbauer would have thought about it ;)

 

VIVA LA ESPANA!

 

mtfbwya

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And congrats to Turkey, who played a good tournament, but simply came up against a better side on the day.

 

Eeeehhh...I might be rooting for the Germans now, but they were not the better side. Against a heavily injured and decimated squad like the Turks, they should do much better. In fact, I believe Turkey was the better team, if only for their incredible fighting spirit. Now that's having a heart.

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... Now that's having a heart.

 

its just been amazing these last few days... upon seeing my scarf, or the flag in my car and house window....people at work, neighbours, strangers, have been coming up to me saying congrats and well done to Turkey.

 

I think todays result will give the younger players some perspective and hunger to qualify for 2010.

 

In other football news, looks like Donadoni will be officially given the arse and replaced by Marcello Lippi next week.

 

The question is, will Lippi jettison the thirtysomething crowd that is the Italian national team, and start building a team of young talented players? Croatia, Russia, Turkey have showcased some great young players.

 

Apart from Alberto Aquilani(23), whom they barely let play....I cant even think of an Italian up'n'coming youngster off the top of my head..it's really sad for italian football IMO.

 

mtfbwya

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Allright. Turkey finally showed their best football. imo, they deserved to win. Backs who went forward, good offensive play. My opinion about them made a 180 degree spin :)

 

Although I have to say, Germany's strong mentality did it again. They never give up. When other teams feel their concentration and power ebbing away, the Germans still play the game. They always do...

 

So, tonight we have Spain-Russia...although I like both teams, I have a slight better feeling with the Russian squad. They seem more of a tight group then Spain...I still have the feeling Spain has several ego's and annoying people in their squad (Sergio Ramos...what a douche) which makes me favor the Hiddink team more.

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They always do...

 

"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."

 

-Gary Lineker

 

 

The question is, will Lippi jettison the thirtysomething crowd that is the Italian national team, and start building a team of young talented players? Croatia, Russia, Turkey have showcased some great young players.

 

Apart from Alberto Aquilani(23), whom they barely let play....I cant even think of an Italian up'n'coming youngster off the top of my head..it's really sad for italian football IMO.

 

They'll blame it on Muslims and Africans. They always do...

 

Seriously though, I think Italy is going to have trouble in the future. Unlike France who still have capable young players (but a stupid manager), Italy might end up without good change for a little while. Without Gattuso and Pirlo, they didn't seem to have much of a midfield. It shows their depth. Hell, look at the Turks without some of their main and best components, they still fought. Italy just did not.

 

The Germans, unlike Jürgen Klinsmann, took a new approach to football, discarding the boring defensive play that was so stereotypical of Germany in the past for a more attractive style without removing their german uniqueness. Italy, IMO, needs to start doing the same and above all, find a good middle point between experience and youth. Buffon isn't always going to be there to save them from disaster.

 

On another note, they did have players under 30 in their squad but they certainly were not the majority in any of Italy's alignment in the tournament. Not even 50% as a matter of facts.

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lukeiamyourdad wrote:

On another note, they did have players under 30 in their squad but they certainly were not the majority in any of Italy's alignment in the tournament. Not even 50% as a matter of facts.

 

The average age of Italian players was 29, making it the oldest team in the tournament.

 

Their current squad (age between brackets):

Goal: Buffon (30. No problem for goal keepers. Van der Sar is 37), Amelia (26), De Sanctis (31)

 

Defense: Panucci (35), Grosso (30), Chiellini (23), Gamberine (26), Barzagli (27), Zambrotta (31), Materazzi (34)

 

Midfield: Gattuso (30), De Rossi (24), Ambrosini (31), Camoranesi (31), Perrotta (30). Pirlo (29), Aquilani (23)

 

Strikers: Del Piero (33), Toni (31), Di Natale (30), Borriello (26), Quagliarella (25), Cassano (25, one of my favorite players...)

 

So, imo, especially in the defense and midfield there are problems. My brother is a soccer professional and he told me soccer players bodies can only hold for so long. This counts very much for defender and midfielder, who require physical strenght. And, let's face it, at age 35, you can't compete with youngsters like Ronaldo, Sneijder and Modric. For striker and goal keepers this is different. Goal keepers rely on reflexes (my brother is actually a goalkeeper) so they can focus on staying fit from around their thirties. And central strikers rely on smart movement and effectiveness. They can keep up after their their thirties, whilst 'wingers' rely on their speed (take a Robben), which many players in their 30's lack. :)

 

So, to end my analysis. They're pretty screwed. In 2 years, most 'young' players in this squad will be in their prime! And in 4 years, they'll be 30-ers as well! If you take a look at the Dutch team (example), they have ALL players around the age of 24-26. Only Van Der Sar, Van Bronckhorst and Van Nistelrooy can possibly drop out after 2010 (Van der Sar already has, btw).

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Viva La Espana! All Hail Creative Football, and determination !! All those little flicks, touches....beautiful.

 

If Germany maintain their dubious defensive form as shown yesterday against Turkey B, hopefully Spain will go on to win a much needed piece of silverware.

 

Russia, for many reasons, were not a shade near the team that defeated Netherlands. Poor Guus seemed quite disappointed.

 

I wonder if Germany will get their act together?

 

Pic: German team member kicks up his heels after yesterdays victory.

borg3d_005.jpg

 

*wears Spanish top with Turkey scarf proudly*

 

mtfbwya

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Eeeehhh...I might be rooting for the Germans now, but they were not the better side. Against a heavily injured and decimated squad like the Turks, they should do much better. In fact, I believe Turkey was the better team, if only for their incredible fighting spirit. Now that's having a heart.

Fair enough, and I didn't actually watch the game, so I wouldn't really know. :xp:

 

And now it's Spain vs Germany, interesting match, but I'd put my money on Spain to win.

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Fair enough, and I didn't actually watch the game, so I wouldn't really know. :xp:

 

lolz, then why did you say 'they simply came up against a better side on the day' :p

 

Ah well, thats over now anyway :) Cant wait for the qualifiers though !

 

mtfbwya

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Excellent play from the Spanish team. The fully deserved the win. A bless for offensive football that Spain made it. Russia was simply not good enough. But with such a young team (youngest of the tournament) I have good hope for the future. Russian footballhas been promoted :)

 

So...we have Spain - Germany. Interesting. Germany is slowly slipping back into their 'we are brick wall!!!' tactics whilst Spain is slowly turning into an offensive football machine with a solid defense. It'll be interesting to see...will defensive football win again? Or wil attacking football win. I hope the latter...it makes matches much more enjoyable. 4-3-3 needs to return!

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Haven't seen the match (the first one of the tournament, actually), but I'm a bit disappointed with the result. Russia seemed to be the team of the tournament, but I guess Spain was just better yesterday. Hope Spain wins against Germany.

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Haven't seen the match (the first one of the tournament, actually), but I'm a bit disappointed with the result. Russia seemed to be the team of the tournament, but I guess Spain was just better yesterday. Hope Spain wins against Germany.

 

I was surprised Russia got that far at all (guess I didn't take the compliments on their coach too seriously, my bad), but in the end the spanish football completely dominated the match, and I mean it. I'm not a particular fan of their gaming style, but Spain has just been promoted on my concepts, and if they played what they did yesterday, Germany is already old story.

 

All the deserved cheers goes for Frabégas, who simply played on all the positions, as a striker he helped the the midfield and even the defense, he just didn't became the goalie because russian attack was completely nullified.

 

Best goal of Euro 2008 was on the last match, Daniel Güiza's.

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Me too, Ghost.

 

Unseren nachbarn! Too bad we didn't get to sing 'Schade Deutschland' this year though :xp:

 

In other news, the players who showed off their skills are currently wanted by many football clubs. Or the ones who didn't do anything and just fell after every contact *couch* Ronaldo *couch* see the interest gone.

 

Arsjavin (Russia) - Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Chelsea

Lahm (Germany) - FC Barcelona

Zhirkov (Russia) - Inter Milan

Aurélio (Turkey) - Real Betis

Christiano Ronaldo - NO Real Madrid (the little b*astard...)

 

From this, I conclude attacking players are most wanted! Lahm, Zhirkov are both upcoming backs and Arsjavin is a 'playmaker.' It's good to see this. After 2006, defenders were hot...and forming your team like a brick wall was too.

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From this, I conclude attacking players are most wanted! Lahm, Zhirkov are both upcoming backs and Arsjavin is a 'playmaker.' It's good to see this. After 2006, defenders were hot...and forming your team like a brick wall was too.

 

Which is a great shame. When a defense player gets awarded as the player of the year, something is very wrong.

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Hopefully Spain will win - I think they have overall been the best team in the tournament.

 

We may as well play that fun game of name your Euro 08 Team....

 

Mine goes something like this;

 

Up front; Arshavin, Villa

 

Midfield; Podolski, Senna, Xavi, Robben

 

Defence; Lahm, Chivu, Pepe, Sergio Ramos

 

Goalkeeper; Boruc

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