The Greatest Euro Matches: Portugal-Greece (2004)

The 2004 European Championship was a tournament full of surprises, and the first surprise was in the opening match where the underdogs of Greece defeated the Portuguese hosts and favourites. Greece had qualified for only their second European championship. The German Otto Reghagel had been coaching the team since 2001, and had with time built a solid disciplined side that qualified ahead of Spain. Still, nobody expected much from the side, who counted mostly with players from the Greek sides Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens. However, they were all experienced players who had all played European Champions league at highest level, and they were complemented by some other players plying their trade in Italy, Spain and Portugal. The captain of the side was Theodoros Zagorakis from AEK Athens, who would also be named player of the tournament. Among the experienced players that would be household names after the tournament were AS Roma's Traianos Dellas, Benfica's Takis Fyssas, Bolton's Stelios Giannakopulous, Inter's Giorgios Karagounis, and Panathinaikos' Giourkas Seitaridis and Angelos Basinas. Up front Werder Bremen's Angelos Charisteas, Atletico Madrid's Demis Nikolaidis and Fiorentina's Zisis Vryzas were among Reghagel's choices.
Surely not a team to be underestimated, and the Greeks showed it in the opening match winning 1-2 on goals by Karagounis and Basinas. Spain, who had lost at home to Greece in qualification, tied Greece 1-1 and even though losing 1-2 to Russia in their last group match, Greece was in the quarterfinals. Nobody expected much from them as they faced the defending champions of France, but against all odds Greece won 0-1, and continued their sensational run winning 0-1 over the Czech Republic in the semi-finals. It was becoming a fairy tale tournament for Greece who would now face the hosts of Portugal in the final, in what was a repeat of the opening match.
It was impossible to question the dedication and commitment of the Greek team, but they were not overly popular due to their defensive style, defeating teams with a much more entertaining style. So waters were divided among neutral fans before the final, which Portugal, in spite of their opening match defeat, were still favourites to win.
As hosts the Portuguese had not played qualification. But the team had certainly been favourite for the title all the time. They were managed by the 2002 World Cup winning coach, Luis Felipe Scolari, and counted some of the best players in the world at the time. The team counted some fantastic playyers from the FC Porto side that won the UEFA Champions League earlier in the year, such as Paulo Ferreiro, Costinha, Nuno Valente, Maniche, and the Brazilian-born playmaker Deco. The experienced captain was Lazio's Fernando Couto, and other experienced players were Pauleta from Paris St. Germain, Rui Costa from AC Milan, and most famous of all, the legendary Luis Figo from Real Madrid, who was to retire from the national team after the tournament. The squad also counted one of the most prolific young talents in the world, a 19-year old Cristiano Ronaldo.
This amazing Portuguese side nevertheless suffered from a certain lack of confidence and arrogance. In the 2002 World Cup, also entering as favourites, they had been eliminated in the first round, famously losing their opening match 2-3 to the USA in what the Portuguese had clearly thought would be a walkover. The side had learned from the mistakes, and had in spite of their initial loss to Greece been able to shake of the defeat by winning over Spain and Russia in the following two matches. The quarterfinal was a thrilling penalty win over England before winning 2-1 over the Netherlands in the semi-final. The side had found its confidence before the final, but at the same time there lingered a doubt about whether they could truly do it. But logically it did not seem possible that little Greece should be able to defeat Portugal twice in their home ground over a few weeks time!
First half was tight, with chances to both sides, with Deco, Ronaldo and Pauleta combining well but unable to break the organized Greek defense. The Greeks could be dangerous at counter-attack, but understanding that from the previous matches, the Portuguese defense was much more aware and with little compromise in tackling the ball away from the Greeks. Pauleta had not scored a single goal in the tournament and his lack of confidence only seemed to increase as the match advanced. 
Although far outnumbered, the Greek fans were heard in the stadium, and in the 57th minute more so as Greece took the lead. Angelo Basinas took a corner kick where Angelos Charisteas surged over the Portuguese defense to head in the goal. With more than half an hour to go Portugal now had to push forward for a goal against a team that hardly let them in. Nuno Gomes came in for the feeble Pauleta and Rui Costa for Costinha. Rui Costa, Ronaldo and Luis Figo all had good shots, but the few times the Greek defense let a Portuguese shot through, the Panathinaikos goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis was proving a strong last bastion against the Portuguese. As the Portuguese lunched forward, Zisis Vryzas even had an opening for a second for Greece, Ricardo Carvalho saved in the Portuguese defense.
In the end all Portuguese attempt were for nothing as Greece could proclaim themselves champions of Europe against all odds. After the match Greek players seemed more awestruck, not believing that they had actually won. Together with Denmark's 1992 victory this was surely the biggest upset in European Championship history.
In the meantime, Portugal are still awaiting their first title.

Lisbon, 4th July 2004, Estadio da Luz 
Attendance: 62,685 
Referee: Markus Merk, Germany 

Portugal-Greece 0-1 

Portugal: Ricardo; Jorge Andrade, Costinha (Rui Costa, 60), Luis Figo (c ), Pauleta (Nuno Gomes, 74), Miguel (Paulo Ferreira, 43), Nuno Valente, Ricardo Carvalho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Maniche, Deco. Coach: Luis Felipe Scolari 
Greece: Antonis Nikopolidis; Giourkas Seitaridis, Traianos Dellas, Angelos Basinas, Theodoros. Zagorakis (c ), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Stelios Venetidis, 76), Angelos Charisteas, Takis Fyssas, Zisis Vryzas (Dimitris Papadopoulos, 81), Michalis Kapsis, Kostas Katsouranis. Coach: Otto Renhagel 

Goals:
0-1 Angelos Charisteas (57)

The Euro Qualified nations

20 out of 24 nations are ready for the 2016 European Championship in France. Despite the fact that I am those who think that a European Championship of 24 teams is way too much, I cannot help but notice some notable newcomers among the 20 nations, some of which would even have qualified with 16 nations, showing what is perhaps a power shift going on in European football:

• Group A: The Czech Republic and Iceland qualified. Besides the big surprise of Iceland, ending on second place, the upset here was that the Netherlands did not qualify at all, not even taking the third spot, which gave Turkey direct qualification (and is it really something to be proud of to qualify as third out of six...?)
• Group B: While not surprising that Belgium qualified on first place, it is perhaps a bit more surprising that Wales took second spot to participate in their first major tournament since 1958. That said, the group did not look that strong, with Bosnia-Hercegovina being the other contenders, and taking the play-off third spot.
• Group C: Spain never seemed in doubt as group winners, although Slovakia did threaten them on the way. Ukraine will be going to the play-offs.
• Group D: This was a surprisingly close group for the World Champions of Germany, who despite defeats to Poland and Ireland on the way, took the first spot and were followed by Poland. Ireland will be someone's difficult opponent for the play-off.
• Group E: Perhaps the most surprising thing in this group is that England, as the only side in Europe, won all their matches, and scored a record 31 goals. Switzerland came on second spot with little competition from third placed Slovenia.
• Group F: The big surprise of this group is that the 2004 European Champions of Greece ended in the last place, behind even little Faroe Islands. For a big nation, this is a bigger humiliation than the Netherlands fourth place in group A, and show the crisis Greece is in. The winners were also a surprise: Northern Ireland qualified ahead of Romania, while Hungary will be going into the play-ff.
• Group G: Austria is the new country to watch in the European Championship as they won the group in style and swept aside their opponents. Russia came in second, with Sweden going into the play-offs.
• Group H: One of the few groups with no surprises as Italy and Croatia took the two qualifying spots, and Norway not as unsurprising taking a play-off spot.
• Group I: Portugal won the group with seven victories and only one defeat, to second placed surprise of Albania, who qualified deservedly despite also having been awarded a 0-3 victory after a scandalous match against Serbia. A Danish side which completely lacks the quality of former times took the play-off spot.

Of course, the 20th nation, not among the above, are the hosts of France!
The draw for the play-off matches that will decide the last four participating teams will take place next Sunday. 
We will soon know all 24 participating countries!

Concacaf 1-UEFA 1

Yesterday two matches between Concacaf and UEFA teams ended with a victory for each of their representatives.

For a long time it seemed that Mexico would be able to upset the Dutch, leading 1-0 until almost the end of the match. It was not an impressive Dutch side, which is not looking unbeatable any longer. However, it is most often teams that combine skills, luck and cynicism who win the world cup, and on that count the Dutch are surely the foremost candidate to win the title now. Wesleyyy Sneijder's equalizer was a canonball at the right time, while Huntelaar did not forgive the penalty when it seemed it would go tto extra time.

Was there penalty? Arjen Robben had surely been looking for it the entire match, diving again and again. I guess at one point it had to work. The penalty can be defended, but it looked weak considering other offenses and the time of the match. 

The heat and humidity probably affected the referee as well.

Cosa Rica-Greece was another encounter between a team that plays football and one that awaits to strike back. Greece are not a team that wins many friends, while the Ticos are now the favourites of the world. So it was great when they went ahead, but disappointing when only one minute from the end, Greece equalized after what in Greek terms can be considered massive offensive. It all went to the most nerve-wrecking penalty kicks of the tournament. Keylor Navas was the Costa Rican hero when he saved a good Greek kickk, but truth is that the Ticos also were steadfast and cool, scoring on all their kicks.

Another fantastic Costa Rican match.

The quarterfinal is another Concacaf-UEFA match, as the Costa Ricans will face the Dutch. It will look to be similar to what we saw today, with the Europeans waiting and the Central Americans looking for goal. 

The sixteen best in the world

It has been an exciting group stage of the 2014 World Cup, full of drama, entertainment and passion. We have sixteen nations left. For the first time ever three of these are from the Concacaf after USA qualified in their dullest match of the tournament, where it did seem they relied on Portuguese and German largesse. It is also the first time ever two African sides qualified: Nigeria and Algeria. The latter were a great surprise, holding a poor Russia to 1-1. I guess we all expected Ivory Coast to be there, but they have been another of the tournament's great disappointments.

Five teams from South America have progressed, but we are certain to see at least two eliminated in the next round, as they will face one another. There are six teams from Europe; where Spain, England, Italy and Portugal have been disappointments, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France are all candidates for the title, while Greece upset everyone by progressing.

We are thus looking at the following matches:

• Brazil-Chile: Two of the most exciting teams of the tournament. This could have been Brazil-Spain, but Chile is an outstanding replacement. While Brazil are favourites, Chile will be no pushover, and the pressure on the Brazilians will be enormous from now on. Alexis Sanchez said today he was most nervous about the referee, which is a real worry indeed.
• Netherlands-Mexico: Mexican coach Miguel Herrera has won many friends with his charisma, but he has also built up a great side. The Dutch have been outstanding, but also shown vulnerabilities against Australia. However, the Dutch remain most likely to eliminate Mexico in the last-16, and I think they will.
• Costa Rica-Greece: Two of the surprises of the tournament and they could hardly be more different. While Costa Rica has won many supporters, Greece are a more controlled and tactically clever, not to say defensive and boring. Costa Rica will have all the support, but I think that the Greek will again upset everyone, and be the biggest surprise in the quarterfinals (where they are likely to face the Dutch).
• Colombia-Uruguay: This will be an intense South American clash. The Uruguayans are upset, seeing themselves as victims after the whole Luis Suarez affair. Colombia have been outstanding both on an off the pitch, and are considered outsiders for the title. Colombia defeated Uruguay 4-0 in Bogota in qualification, but doubt they can do the same again. At the same time, Uruguay grows with the tournament, but will miss Suarez. I think Colombia will win a narrow and dramatic match. The winner will probably face Brazil in the next round, so this is the start of the fall of the South American domino.
• France-Nigeria: France were strong in their first two matches, and looked to be saving themselves in their final group match against Ecuador. In the meantime Nigeria made it through despite a loss to Argentina, where they nevertheless played well. I do believe that the French winner mentality under Didier Deschamps will prevail and France will be in the quarterfinals.
• Germany-Algeria: The winner of this match will probably face France in the quarterfinals, so no matter what, that quarterfinal will be historic. This match will be historic as well: in 1982 Algeria defeated Germany - the first time ever an African side defeated a European in a World Cup. But Algeria were eliminated when the Germans cheated their way to the next round with a "fixed" 1-0 victory over Austria. The Algerians will be hungry for revenge. But this German team is looking as potential champions, and while the Algerians will fight their heart out, Germany will, as always, prevail.
• Argentina-Switzerland: All Argentina's success comes down only to Lionel Messi. And this will be their doom, as other players, who are supposedly good, do not perform. Higuain and Lavezzi, besides playing poorly, have not put their heart into the matches. Di Maria cannot hold an entire match, while Argentina's defense continues to be a joke. Switzerland had a terrible match against France, but their striker Shaquiri has proven to be deadly. I think he will make a feast of the Argentine defense, and if they can control Messi, the Swiss will win, as Argentina has nothing else to offer.
• Belgium-USA: Belgium progressed with three victories but without impressing. The USA were both physically well prepared and organized, but also somewhat lucky to make it through. They were very bad against Germany, but could still upset anyone who does not respect them. This includes the Belgians, who I nevertheless think will win. This would make the quarterfinal a fight between Swiss and Belgian chocolate!

Wow! Fantastic matches ahead of us, and more excitement! I think at least three European teams will make it to the semifinals (Switzerland/Belgium, France/Germany, Netherlands/Greece) and one South American (Brazil/Colombia). I hope I am wrong.

Yet another Ivorian debacle

It seemed that Ivory Coast had it all in their hands to follow Colombia to the last-16 of the World Cup. Colombia did their part, defeating any possible Japanese threat 4-1, so everything was up to the Ivorians against a Greek side that had not scored a goal, and had played the kind of football that is easy to forget.

But beware of Greece; they work hard, are solid in the back, and in Georgios Samaras have an experienced and classy striker. And the Greeks did what they had to do against an Ivorian side without pace or commitment. A side that disappointed in 2006, 2010, and were apparently not mentally prepared not to disappoint. 

Cote d'Ivoire are a better team, player for player, than Greece. But that is not what football is about. Greece played as a team, with heart and commitment, and that gave them the 2-1 victory where Georgios Samaras kept his head cool in a last minute penalty.

Against all odds, Greece are in the last-16 where they will face another sensation, Costa Rica.

Either Greece or Costa Rica are among the best eight in the world. Nobody expected that.

In the meantime, one of Africa's hopes has disappointed the world yet again.

Day 3 of the World Cup: Rome, Italy

The first day of my holidays I arrived in Rome Italy. After food and a rest I found a pub to watch the first match of the day: Colombia-Greece. I was delighted to be among many lively and happy Colombians in a pub, watching with joy (and undeniably a bit of envy) the yellow wave in Belo Horizonte. If anything, people will love the Colombian team because of their fans. And I will gladly and proudly subscribe as one of them.

Colombia won 3-0. 

I then went to a small pub called Druids Den. I was there long time ago, and like the atmosphere. Discussed football both with a Russian and an Ivorian as we watched Costa Rica make one of the first big upsets of the tournament: 3-1 to the Fantas-Ticos over a hugely disappointing Uruguay side. Uruguay were a bit arrogant as they went ahead in the first half without really trying. But the Ticos gave the Uruguayans a footballing lesson in the second half with a wonderfully inspired Joel Campbell, who announced himself as one of the players to watch in the tournament. He was simply incredible.

In the group of death Costa Rica are a serious contender. England and Italy should know that the Ticos will be pushover. Uruguay in the meantime, must improve at everything. It is much more than a question of Luis Suarez. He would have made no difference against Costa Rica.

For the Italy-England match I went to meet some Italian friends at a club called OsClub. A posh place where everyone looked like Andrea Pirlo and Paolo Maldini; goofy guy like me felt a bit out of place there as I ordered a drink with a bartender who seemed to despise me for my appearance. I got there a bit early as a band was playing "we are the champions". It sounded so bad I really wished that Italy would not be champions. 

I asked a friend why nobody was wearing Italy shirts and carrying flags.

"No. It is too early. We do in thi final".

Impossible not to love the Italian confidence and cool. Quite a contrast to the crazy Colombians I had seen earlier!

When the match started the entire house supported Italy of course, including myself. I like Prandelli's approach to football and Pirlo's mastery of the pitch; an orchestra director of football. It was great when Claudio Marchisio brought Italy ahead, but also good to see Raheem Sterling, who made trouble for the Italians, equalize. However, I was delighted to see my favourite enfante terrible bring Italy ahead and finally give them the victory. Super-Mario Balotelli is bound to prove crucial for Italy yet again.

Great footballing day in Rome!

Colombia is in the house

After first half I was a bit nervous about wonderful Colombia: they were thinly spread, and left open chances to the Greeks. However, I loved the fact that they played with patience to get an all-important 3-0 victory in a difficult opener against a difficult defensive Greek side. It may prove crucial when it comes to goal difference.

On top of all, the best thing were Colombia's fans. When they continued singing the anthem's last lines, it was overwhelming. They will be remembered as the best fans of the tournament because of their passion, joy and undiminished support for their team. 

Colombia is already World Champion because of their fans.

The Euro 2012 Quarterfinals

The first round of the Euro 2012 is over, and the quarterfinals are now ready. Although the quality has not been overwhelming, it surely improved after the first round of matches. Still, I feel that too many teams have played too controlled and not direct enough. At the same time the exit of both home sides has been disappointing, and the biggest surprise has been the hopeless performance of the Netherlands, who with Ireland was the only side to exit the tournament with three straight defeats.
The quarterfinals are as follows:

• Czech Republic-Portugal

The Czechs are probably the team that most grew in the tournament; in the opening match they lost 4-1 to Russia, and the played lousy during much of the match. But a victory against Greece and against the home side of Poland gave them the first place in the group, and should not be underestimated. However, Portugal should be favourites. The Portuguese played a fine match against Germany in spite of losing, but what put them in the quarterfinals were the two victories against Denmark and the Netherlands. Portugal are by no means impossible to defeat and their greatest enemy are probably the careless arrogance with which they often confront sides that they do not consider as good as themselves, as well as the lack of confidence they have when falling behind. It is clear that they have nevertheless been working on these mental shortcomings under Paulo Bento, and with an incredible Cristiano Ronaldo they should be on their way to the semifinals.

• Germany-Greece

This match will be talked a lot about politically given the current crisis in Europe, where an overpowering Germany has been accused of imposing its economic might on a careless and defensive Greece.
Footballwise, Germany is the only team with three wins, even in the "group of death", and should be considered the main favourite to win the tournament.
Greece has been a surprise: after almost winning their opener against Poland they lost to the Czechs, and were under pressure in their last match against the group leaders of Russia. But playing with passion, Giorgios Karagounis gave them the winner. It will be a great loss that Karagounis will be out for the quarterfinal, but be sure that the Greeks will play with passion against the giant favourites of Germany!

• Spain-France

The defending World Champion have routinely played their characteristic passing game to win their group, but have still not looked as completely overwhelming as four years ago. For periods Italy and Croatia played at least as well as the Spaniards, and except for the match against Ireland, they sometimes have seemed to lack directness. Andrés Iniesta has nevertheless been the star of the team, and as he did two years ago in South Africa, he may be able to carry the Spanish all the way to the title yet again.
Spain are huge favourites against France, who has not looked impressive. They dominated against England but were either unwilling or unable to score. Their best match was against Ukraine, but for their defeat against Sweden they were very poor. The side is full of strong talented players, but if they in any way are to have a chance against Spain, they must play far better.
Spain should be in the semifinals.

• England-Italy

This quarterfinal is between two big sides that are both looking to be back among the great. Italy has played well under Cesare Prandelli, but still has periods where they seem tired, something that they cannot afford to do much. On the good side, their main strikers, Balotelli, Di Natale and Cassano have all scored, and it is a luxury choice to choose their striker. With Andrea Pirlo also looking great, Italy should have good chances against England.
Still, this English side should not be underestimated. They managed to win a very difficult group with controlled football, a bit of luck and tenacity. It is not exciting to look at, but this English side seems to be past the "Spice-Boys" mentality of the last few years.
I think this is the most difficult quarterfinal to make a prediction about, but I hope Italy will win.

Good luck to all sides.

Thank Argentina Greece is out

Before today's match against Argentina Greece actually had a chance of going to the next round: defeating Argentina and/or hoping that Nigeria-South Corea would go in its favour. However, at no point during the match did Greece seem like a team that wanted to continue in the tournament, and as such are the most deserved team to be sent home so far, for either lack of quality or lack of ambition. Although with 11 men in defence the Greeks made it difficult for the Argentineans to score, it was clear that the development of the Nigeria-South Corea match (which finally ended 2-2, sending the Asians through) would demand more risk from the Greeks. However, this never came, and it seemed only a deserved punishment when Argentina finally scored by Demichelis.

Greece is probably the team that will be least missed.

Argentina in the meantime has gone through with 3 victories, and will be facing Mexico in a repeat of the 2006 quarterfinal. It will surely not be easy, but Argentina has indeed looked strong, and has won the last 8 matches they have played under Diego Maradona, whom many continue to doubt, more because of spite than because of his results!

GO ARGENTINA!

Top 10 bummers of Euro 2008

It is not because I feel it was a bad tournament, quite on the contrary, but I can unfortunately think of a number of things that were a bit of bummers in this tournament – on the other hand, some of these things are also what made the tournament memorable!
So here comes the top then bummers of Euro 2008:

10) Boring teams: It has been a great tournament, with great matches and good football. And although the winning team, Spain, swore for the beautiful and attacking football, a few teams seem to be stuck with their defensive style.
9) Austrian football association: An Austrian brewery promised free beer for life to any Austrian player who scored. But when Vastic scored for Austria against Poland, the Austrian FA said no to the price…
No to free beer!!?? Please…!
8) UEFA referee rules: Inconsistency in the implementation of rules seems the most consistent thing in international football. This Euro 2008 was no exception, mostly during Ruud Van Nistelrooi’s first goal against Italy: everyone thought it should have been off-side, since the last Italian player was outside the pitch. However, rules say that he was still “in play” – shattering what everybody else thought.
Now, why should such a rule be kept secret…?
7) David Villa’s injury: David Villa became the top-scorer of the tournament with four goals in only two matches. He could have gotten many more.
6) Gomes: The German striker was a complete flop. I think nobody even got scared when he was put in in the final against Spain, and his missed goal against Austria was one of the biggest misses I have ever seen.
5) Czech Republic: The ageing Czechs were not so much a disappointment because of their mistakes (like Peter Cech’s against Turkey – he still is a great goalkeeper), but more because of the lacking capacity in closing off a match. The Czech team seems to be arrogant: we saw some of the same in the 2006 World Cup, and think a game is finished before the 90th minute.
Fortunately the Turks proved them wrong.
4) Portuguese spirit: While the Turks showed incredible fighting spirit, the Portuguese super stars were completely opposite. While rightfully hailed as favourites when the tournament started, it took only an organised and efficient German side to take away their arrogant confidence. In the last half hour of the quarterfinal the Portuguese players seemed like tired and defeated old ladies.
Portugal didn’t win because they lacked winner-mentality.
3) Greece: The defending champions of 2004 were poor to say the least.
2) France & Domeneqc: France was a huge disappointment. With the players they have their performance bordered the pathetic in spite of good moments against the Netherlands. And here, I must blame a coach which seemed too arrogant, superstitious and disrespected to lead a top-rate team of super-stars to anything.
France was hugely disappointing and that is a pity for football.
1) Swiss TV: It was completely unproper when Swiss TV used a text from the old Nazi lyrics to the German national song for the Germany-Austria game. Not only unproper I guess, but also disgusting and an insult to the great German team and people (and please, this does not mean I will support them!)

Germany in the semifinal

I guess it was somewhat to be expected: the Portuguese were unable to stop the efficient Germans who, like in the good ole' days, just become better and better as the tournament goes on.
How far can they go? They will be facing Croatia or Turkey in the semifinal, and neither looks that intimidating after Germany's good game today against an also well-playing Portuguese side. Still, the Portuguese were unable to stop some German players who really excelled: Ballack was incredible (well, he did make a small foul in his third goal, but I am sorry to say, these things happen often, and mostly to the advantage of the defender... I can only blame the referee!), but was closely followed in great performance by many other Germans: Hitzlsperger, Podolski, Lahm and the returning Schweinsteiger.
This team can go far. But how far...?
It is a pity however, to see the Portuguese out again. They play good and positive football, and have some amazing players: Deco was stunning today, and Bosingwa an eternal threat on the right side.
But as a team, they simply were not as good as the Germans, and one is left with the impression that the Portuguese again lost to the cleverer team, just like when losing to Greece in 2004...
Sorry to Portugal, congratulations to Germany!

The Champions are out

In spite of their boring style I thought Greece were deserved (albeit not worthy) champions of Euro 2004. Last night, on their second consecutive loss in Euro 2008 (0-1 to the Russians), the defending champions are out, and deservedly so. They are simply not as good, and their boring style should not be copied. This should be the year of entertaining football!
Sorry to the great Greek fans, but it is true.
Bye bye Greece.
The last match of the group between Russia and Sweden will be a nail-biter, as both teams can go through. Although I personally would go for the Russians, I (sadly) believe the Swedes are more disciplined and better organised, besides their absolutely wonderful strikers (Henrik Larsson is still, at 37, one of the greatest players ever!).

EURO 2008 predictions

The EURO 2008 is starting on Saturday with two matches in group A: the hosts of Switzerland are facing the unpredictable Czechs, while the favourites of Portugal are facing Turkey.

With a lot of exciting football matches ahead it is time to make my predictions of the tournament (where I am, to be honest, usually pathetically wrong...):

• Group A: A strong defense and home support will bring the Swiss to the top of the group, with Portugal just behind (the two teams will share points in the last game of the group).


• Group B: The Croatians have a young and talented team, and is ready to repeat what they did in 1998: they will defeat a German team which I believe will disappoint for its third EURO in a row. Croatia will win the group, ahead of Austria, which without a strong team will take advantage of playing at home.


• Group C: This is the "group of death", and is thus the hardest to predict; I am certain we will see some close matches. The Romanians are an exciting young team, but they won't prevail. Instead, I believe the Netherlands will win the group, taking advantage of what i believe will be a tuff last repeat of the 2006 World Cup Final, but where the French will prevail ahead of the Italians, to take the second spot in the group.


• Group D: This group is also hard to predict, but I believe the Russians will surprise by winning the group. Spain will largely disappoint, as usual, but will squeeze past the Swedes to take second place in the group. The Greeks will lose their 2004 title.

With these predictions on the first round, we are looking at the following quarterfinals (I will not make any further predictions here):

1. Switzerland-Austria: The co-hosts clashing!


2. Croatia-Portugal: Surely to be an utterly intense match!


3. Netherlands-Spain: Can Spain do it?


4. Russia-France: The surprising Russians against the dangerous French.

According to this, we could plausibly be looking at a final between Russia/France/Netherlands and Portugal/Switzerland.

In the Facebook UEFA Euro 2008 predictor (I have before written about the football applications on Facebook) the most predicted team for champion is Spain, closely followed by Portugal. Although one can seldomly count on history alone, this is interesting: Spain often go in as favourites, but besides their victory in 1964, they usually disappoint. I don't believe their team this time is particularly stronger than previously - who knows...? Maybe that is why they could make it...

The teams mostly picked as runner-ups are Germany and Italy, and this shows that people are perhaps hoping/expecting to see a new winner, in spite of one of the big powers who usually win. Neither Italy nor Germany have done well in the last couple of European Championships, and although one should never-say-never with these super-teams, I don't believe that they will do well this time either.

In any case, I have been wrong before, and the greatest fun is to discuss it over beer and watch some great games, as well as taunt our fellow Europeans!

Michael Laudrup to Panathinaikos?

Michael Laudrup has always been one of my favourite players, and as coach, first in Brøndby and then in Getafe, he has also proved a highly qualified football personality.
Since announcing his leaving of Getafe a few weeks ago, there has been widespread speculation of where he would be coaching, and he has on-off been connected to Benfica, Sevilla and FC Barcelona. I have no idea how serious these rumours have been, but now it seems confirmed that Mr. Laudrup will be going to the Greek club, Panathinaikos, replacing the Portuguese José Peseiro.
While I think many fans would have liked to see Mr. Laudrup in one of the bigger clubs in Spain or England, Panathinaikos will no doubt be a challenge: the Greek fans are passionate, and there is great competition in the league which for the last four seasons have been won by Olympiacos (must be mentioned that the Greek league has been a pretty one-sided affair since 1997: Olympiacos has won every year, with the exception of 2004, when Panathinaikos won their last title).
There is no doubt that Mr. Laudrup will be under pressure to bring Panathinaikos back to the title, and that will be a challenge I wish him the best of luck with!

EURO 2008

The European Championship for national teams is starting soon, on June 7th. As all leagues have pretty much finished, and thus, the EURO 2008 in Switzerland/Austria will be a good afterthought/hangover, full of exciting matches for all football fans.
I must admit that I have far higher expectations to the EURO 2008 by now than I would have to the World Cup, where too many teams mean too many boring matches between lousy teams. But with more of the better teams and a more compact format, the EURO 2008 should not suffer from this (nevertheless, I do predict some incredibly boring matches between some of the more tactically-minded teams).
Although some people say that the EURO 2004 in Portugal was a bore with the wrong winner, I do not agree: Greece was not an exciting team, but were deserved winners. In fact, another beauty of the European championships is that you actually have the realistic possibility of seeing surprises by "small" teams winning: Greece is only one example, but Denmark in 1992 is another (This also makes it very difficult to predict the tournament!)

Greece will undboubtfully have a hard time defending their title, although their group D does not look impossible; they have been paired with Spain, Sweden and Russia.
Sweden is as always unpredictable, and could both win and lose, while Spain again goes to a big tournament with a super-team, but without winning it. Russia is another interesting team: they qualified at the last moment because of England's exit, but were otherwise not overly impressive in the qualifiers.

What I would call the "group of Death" is group C, where the world champions and number two, France and Italy, face each other in a repeat of the 2006 World Cup final. The other teams in the group are the ever-talented Dutch, and a young talented Romanian side, who actually qualified ahead of the Netherlands in their group. Watch out for them!

Group B will see some interesting clashes, where Germany will try to wash away their huge disappointments from the EURO 2004 and the EURO 2000, where they didn't qualify from the initial stages. But it won't be easy, as they will be facing teams who are sure to want to defeat the Germans: Poland has qualified strongly (ahead of Portugal), and after a dramatic match in Berlin at the 2006 World Cup, will be sure to want to upset their big neighbor.
For Croatia any game against Germany is special: in the EURO 1996 they lost in the quarterfinals, but in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinals they destroyed Germany 3-0 in a legendary match which brought Croatia to the forefront of world football. Croatia-Germany is a match I would never want to miss!
The last team in the group are the Austrian hosts; a team that has not showed great results in the last years, their possibilities as hosts are difficult to estimate.

Group A will see the Swiss co-hosts in some interesting matches, although the group otherwise doesn't personally excite me very much: the Swiss are good, but in the 2006 World Cup were very defensive and boring. The group could see a tense match between Turkey and Switzerland, who played last time for the 2006 World Cup play-offs, when Turkey proved disgraceful. Nevertheless, Turkey is still an interesting team, that anyone should watch out for.
The other two teams in the group, Portugal and the Czech Republic, are powerful outsiders: the Czech had a good EURO 2004, but a lousy 2008 World Cup. They still have a powerful team, and won their qualifying group ahead of Germany.
Finally, Portugal still has a super team, and with the world's currently best player, Cristiano Ronaldo. However, it remains to be seen whether they can go all the way after their disappointing loss at home to Greece in the EURO 2004. But I would certainly call them the favourites in group A!

I shall soon make my predictions for the tournament, but be sure that it will be fun, as European nations again face each other for the title of the best team of the continent!

Greece to defend its title

Greece qualified for the EURO 2008 in Austria-Switzerland last night, after defeating their arch-rivals of Turkey 1-0 in Istambul on a goal by Amanatidis.
All in all it was a very well-deserved victory, and I was impressed by the defending 2004 champions, who were otherwise missed in the 2006 World Cup. Greece managed to put pressure on the home team, who was unable to open the typically tight Greek defense. But Greece played great, and will be very welcome next year to defend their title!

Denmark-Spain and other EURO qualifiers

Danes call Spain their "onde aand", or bad spirit, ever since the painful defeats inflicted by the Iberians on the Danes in 1984 and in 1986. For this EURO-2008 qualifier, it seemed that what the Spaniards were fearing most was the danger of some unruly spectator invading the pitch, even though the game was being played in Aarhus and not Copenhagen after the misshap against Sweden.
I must admit, that I didn't watch the match, under my present condition, but on the Spanish magazine Marca there was a debate raging on whether Sergio Ramos' goal was the best of a Spanish national team ever. This is surely a big remark, considering all the great goals of Spanish history.
Otherwise, this group F is quite clear: with Sweden winning 3-0 against Liechtenstein, only Northern Ireland could potentially upset the two top teams.

In group D Germany's goalless draw against Ireland put them firmly in next year's European Championsship, likely to be followed by the Czhechs.

Group B, with some great footballing nations, is one of the most interesting ones. as three teams are bitterly fighting for the two spots. Surprisingly, the mighty Ucrainians are out of this struggle after losing 3-1 to the ever-fighting Scots, who have now taken to the first spot in the group, ahead of World Champions Italy and France. A bit unexpected I guess, but well-deserved for a Scottish team that seems to be on its way back into the world limelight. With a victory away in Georgia, Scotland will qualify for sure, leaving either France or Italy out.

In group G Romania is looking more and more likely to participate after defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in Bucharest. next game against Luxembourg can seal it for them, while the Netherlands are ahead of Bulgaria bya couple of points.

Portugal took a small step towards the EURO-2008 by defeating Azerbaijan 3-1 in group A, at the same time as Finland only drew against Belgium. this puts them on equal points on second spot, but with Portugal one game ahead of the Finns. They are both trailing Poland by 6 points on first place. The Poles are only a game away from sealing their participation as well.

The defending champions from 2004, Greece, after winning against Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-2, are leading their group C four points ahead of Turkey. Next match will be between these two rivals, and that may be the only hope for Norway on third place.

Finally, in group E, England seems to have found its way. They defeated Estonia 3-0, and is now on second spot after Croatia, who won 1-0 against Israel. England's big test will be next match, against Russia in Moscow. The Russians are trailing England by five points, and will need to win to keep hoping for participation.

It is looking more and more clear what the EURO-2008 will be like!

Brazil and Greece

A day of great surprises in the 2005 Confederations Cup. After Argentina's and Germany's expected victories, Greece and Brazil were also expected to follow suit. However, the Greeks continued with their poor showing as European Champions, and lost to a motivated and organised Japanese side. In the other match, although less surprising, The Mariachi's showed that they can tame the Brazilian samba. Mexico won 1-0, and in spite of good Brazilian chances, Mexico also had the chance of of winning with a larger margin. The tournament is thus getting more exciting, but I still expect that it will end up with a Latin American winner.

Confederations Cup: Brazil-Greece

I am currently on vacation. As usual, I am very bored. At least, there is the Confederations Cup to waste my time with. So far, every team has been a disappointment, except one: the defending World Champions of Brazil. Tonight they showed why South America is still completely dominant when it comes to football, by giving the European Champions from Greece a true footballing lesson. 3-0, with strikes from Inter's Adriano, Santos' Robinho and Lyon's Juninho, does not really do justice to the huge qualitative difference between the two teams.
While I hope that other teams will start showing what they are able to do, Brazil is so far the only one worth wasting my vacation on!

Confederations Cup 2005

The FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 is starting this Wednesday June 15th. The tournament does not carry the prestige of other tournaments, but still is a good opportunity to see some of the world's best national teams in a competitive context in a year when there are few other international tournaments.
The tournament started in 1992 in Saudi Arabia as King Fahd Cup. Since then, it has grown to become a mini-World Cup, comprising the champions from each continent. The winners have been:

• 1992: Argentina
• 1995: Denmark
• 1997: Brazil
• 1999: Mexico
• 2001: France
• 2003: France

This year's Confederations Cup is taking place in Germany (giving the home team a good opportunity to try out the venue of next year's World Cup), and will contain the following teams in two groups:

• A: Argentina, Australia, Germany, Tunisia
• B: Brazil, Greece, Japan, Mexico

The Greek European champions are making their first appearance. Germany, the home team, should be watched out for, as they will be going for it all in one of the few tournaments they have never won. All Latin American teams have won it before, and will be favourites to take the title as well. Finally, the surprise African champions of Tunisia should be watched for. The same should be said of Japan.

In any case, for some good football next week, the Confederations cup is a good bet.