Euro 2008 | Footy20

Posts in Euro 2008 Category

June 28th, 2008

Euro 2008 Final Preview: Germany v/s Spain

Welcome to Footy20! If you're new here, you may want to check out the Videos section. You may also want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The European Championships draws to a close tomorrow at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna with Germany taking on Spain for the bragging rights. The tournament has proved to be really exciting what with the exciting Turks and Russians providing lots of drama.

On the whole, it has to be said that Germany and Spain are the most deserving two teams for the final showdown. Though Joachim Low’s team lost to Croatia in the group stages, they played some very good football to knock Portugal and Turkey out, the scoreline being 3-2 in both the matches.

Luis Aragones’ men were the second most exciting team after Netherlands in the group stages. They did play out a drab affair against the Italians in the quarterfinals, but against an in-form Russian side, their class showed as Fabregas and company decimated Guus Hiddink’s side. It has to be conceded that Aragones’ decision not to start Fabregas was baffling. But there should be little doubt that the Arsenal midfielder will start the final.

For the Germans though, influential captain Michael Ballack is a doubt. If he does not play, it would be a major blow, because Ballack is one of those people who can change the course of the game. Germany would be hard-pressed to find someone to replace him.

David Villa, though, has surely been ruled out of the final. That puts the onus on Torres who has been surprisingly underperforming in the Euro 2008. Guiza might partner him in attack.

Spain, the perennial underachievers, know that this is a great opportunity for them to shake off that tag, by repeating the success of 1964. Then, they beat the former Soviet Union 2-1. I am expecting Spain to retake the European crown 44 years later with a similar scoreline over Germany.

Prediction: Spain to win 2-1.
Men to watch: Cesc Fabregas, Bastian Schweinsteiger

Tags: 1964, Arsenal, Bastian Schweinsteiger, captain, Cesc Fabregas, Croatia, David Villa, Ernst Happel Stadion, Euro 2008, European, Fabregas, Germans, Germany, Guiza, Guus Hiddink, Italians, Joachim Low, Luis Aragones, Michael Ballack, midfielder, Portugal, quarterfinals, Russians, Soviet Union, Spain, Torres, Turkey, Turks, Vienna

Vijay | Posted In Euro 2008, News, Previews | Tagged Comments 1 Comment »

June 27th, 2008

Player Profile: Daniel Güiza

Daniel Güiza has burst onto the international scene for Spain with two goals in the space of eight days, the latest of which sealed Spain’s victory over Russia in the semifinal yesterday. Arsenal were reportedly interested in the services of this striker.

The soon-to-be 27 year-old Guiza plays for Spanish Primera Liga club Real Mallorca. He first moved to the club as a teenager in 1999, but was used very sparingly, and featured for Mallorca in just seven games over a three year period. After frustrating stints at Recreativo Huelva and Barcelona B, Guiza got his first big break at Murcia in the Spanish Segunda Division. In the two years from 2003 to 2005, Guiza was prolific scoring at the rate of roughly a goal every two games.

A move to Getafe ensued, and Guiza helped the club to successive ninth place finishes in the Primera Liga, scoring 20 goals in 61 games, which brought him back to his old club Mallorca. This time around, Güiza was more a finished product, and his return of 27 goals made him the league’s top scorer in 2007 - 2008 season.

Guiza was called up to Spain’s national team by coach Luis Aragones in November 2007, and made his international debut against Northern Ireland. In the Euro 2008, he scored the winner against Greece, and the second goal against Russia.

Güiza is married to Spanish celebrity Nuria Bermudez, who is also his agent. It is rumored that she brokered his move from Getafe to Mallorca.

Tags: 1999, 2003, 2005, Arsenal, Barcelona B, Daniel Guiza, Getafe, Greece, Guiza, Luis Aragones, Mallorca, Murcia, Northern Ireland, Nuria Bermudez, Primera Liga, Recreativo Huelva, Russia, Segunda Division, semifinal, Spain, Spanish

Vijay | Posted In Euro 2008, Profiles | Tagged 3 Comments »

June 26th, 2008

Lippi back in charge

Image via Wikipedia

Following their exit from Euro 2008, Italy have acted quickly by bringing back Marcello Lippi as the coach of the national side.

Italy lost to Spain on penalties in the quarterfinals of the European Championships, and the Italian Football Federation had stripped coach Roberto Donadoni of his position almost immediately. By reinstalling Lippi, the coach who guided Italy to glory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the bosses of Italian football have sent a clear message.

In a country where football following is so passionate as to evoke frequent debates in parliament, Donadoni was always under pressure to perform, especially after taking charge when the team was on a high. The Euro 2008 qualifiers started badly for the former AC Milan man, with defeats to Iceland and France, which prompted the media to launch a “Bring Lippi back” campaign. However, Italy bounced back with a string of five successive victories that restored some amount of confidence in Donadoni.

Italy did manage to crawl out of the Group of Death, with an impressive performance against France, but this came after the team’s worst performance in decades, a 3-0 defeat against Marco van Basten’s Netherlands. The defeat against Spain though proved the nail in the coffin.

Marcello Lippi, who has managed Juventus and Inter Milan earlier, turned the Italians around and inspired them to victory in the World Cup, employing what some claim as a siege mentality, following a year of crisis in Italian football. Lippi resigned as national coach following the victory over France. He has been away from management since then, turning down many alleged managerial offers.

Tags: 2006, AC Milan, coach, Euro 2008, FIFA World Cup, France, Group of Death, Inter Milan, Italian, Italy, Juventus, Marcello Lippi, Marco van Basten, Netherlands, penalties, qualifiers, Roberto Donadoni, Spain, World Cup

Vijay | Posted In Euro 2008, News | Tagged No Comments »

June 25th, 2008

Euro 2008 Semifinal Preview: Russia v/s Spain

Image via Wikipedia

Many football pundits are of the opinion that the Russian resurgence in football is for real, and that it is here to stay. With so many exciting players and inarguably a top-draw coach, the Russians have shows semblances of living upto their potential.

Based on their performance in the quarterfinal alone where they took apart the high-flying Netherlands side in such clinical fashion, Russia deserve to go through to the final. Spain, on the other hand, played out a sleepy affair against Italy that wasn’t worth watching at all.

But Spain were one of the best teams in the group stages, you say. Yes, they were. After all, they scored 8 goals in the group stages. They still are a force to reckon with. With such promising talents such as Francesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, David Villa and Andres Iniesta in their ranks, the Spaniards pose an attacking threat of frightening proportions. But so were the Dutch. They scored 9 goals, and yet were dismantled with ease by Russia.

So what is the trick? Much as Spain (and the Netherlands too) are an attacking threat, their defence does not hold up very well. At least, it is not necessarily top quality. The Russians, especially Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko, exploited this weakness against the Dutch. Hiddink blooded his team with an attacking mindset, knowing very well that if he let Marco van Basten’s team get on top, they would lay siege on their goal. There is no reason to believe why Russia would treat Luis Aragones’ Spain any differently.

Simply put, Spain are too much of an attacking threat. And the only way the Russians can overcome them is by showing more aggression, and constantly attacking the Spanish defence, both down the middle and from the wings.

Russia would definitely miss suspended defender Denis Kolodin (of CSKA Moscow) at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna tomorrow. Kolodin was not only a rock in defence, but also produced a couple of stunning saves off Edwin van der Sar with well-directed long range shots. Hiddink will also be without the services of Lokomotiv’s Dimitri Torbinsky, who scored the goal that broke the deadlock against Holland in extra time.

Prediction: Russia to win 2-1. Arshavin to be man of the match!

Tags: Andrei Arshavin, Andres Iniesta, CSKA Moscow, David Villa, Denis Kolodin, Dimitri Torbinsky, Dutch, Ernst Happel Stadion, Ernst Happel Stadium, Euro 2008, Fernando Torres, football, Francesc Fabregas, Guus Hiddink, Holland, Italy, Lokomotiv Moscow, Luis Aragones, Man of the Match, Marco van Basten, Netherlands, Prediction, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russia, Russian, semifinal, soccer, Spain, Vienna, Wien

Vijay | Posted In Euro 2008, Previews | Tagged 3 Comments »

June 24th, 2008

Euro 2008 Semifinal Preview: Germany v/s Turkey

Image via Wikipedia

Germany and Turkey will do battle tomorrow at the St Jakob Park in Basel in the first semifinal of what has been an exciting Euro 2008.

The German side, coached by the young Joachim Low, started the tournament as one of the favourites, and while they were beaten only once by Croatia, they still haven’t really looked championship material. One is bound to think that the World Cup side coached by Jurgen Klinsmann were a few notches better than the current German line-up. However, let there be no doubt whatsoever that Low’s boys will start tomorrow’s game as favorites against Fatih Terim’s Turkey.

And that is not because the Germans are better. Rather Terim’s side is now missing some key players, as noted earlier. Volkan Demirel, Arda Turan, Tuncay Sanli and Emre Asik are all suspended for the Battle of Basel. To further complicate Terim’s selection headaches, Nihat Kahveci who was the architect and executioner of Turkey’s stunning comeback against the Czech Republic is out injured.

Be that as it may, the Turkish side have proved one point over and over again - never, NEVER EVER count them out. If football were a sport that were played over an 80-minute period, the Turks would have already been back home. But through a combination of resilience, a never-say-die attitude, and an ability to pinch goals, Terim’s men have survived thus far.

Would Germany be too tough a bridge to cross? Will Ballack, Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Klose and company be too much to overcome? My feeling is that they will be. Especially if Germany go into the game with an attacking frame of mind, and converts their attacks into goals, preferably early goals past the wily Rustu Recber, they should be able to pass safely though to the finals.

Prediction: Germany to win 3-1. Michael Ballack to score.