Best start we could have

[Sarevok]

Netherlands - Italy: 3 - 0 (that's THREE - zero) (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/soccer/specials/euro_championship/2008/06/09/bc.eu.spt.soc.euro2008.ned.ap/index.html?eref=T1)

In case anyone missed, this is about the European championships.

[Nazbaque]

Now I don't really watch football but I know Italy is a multiple champion/finalist. I don't know where the Netherlands usually stand but 3-0 against Italy is an achievement from any country. Hooray for the Dutch!!

[Anaiya Sedai]

hehe that was actually fun to watch.
(and I'm even allowed to support germany this time because england didn't make it :D)

[Mort]

Yeah I watched the Neth - Ita game, was a good one for about the first half, then the Italians got a little sad to watch, they had no game at all :D
Cheered for the Netherlands, naturally :)

Spain - Russia and Greece - Sweden tonight, will definetly watch the Swede game. Sweden is pretty far down on the rankings, we might not get very far this time around :(

[Sei'taer]

I'm excited the Italy got beat. They're getting old anyway. I think that they are one of oldest teams, in average age.

[Mort]

Yeah, the Italian team is ancient :)

[irerancincpkc]

Okay, I have a question about soccer (or I guess you guys call it football... :D). I've never understood why they don't score more goals. The net is so big, and the ball is so small, and yet, not many points are scored. Not ripping on it or anything, just trying to understand! :D

[Davian93]

Okay, I have a question about soccer (or I guess you guys call it football... :D). I've never understood why they don't score more goals. The net is so big, and the ball is so small, and yet, not many points are scored. Not ripping on it or anything, just trying to understand! :D

Too many players on each team that clog up the field is my opinion. Its too easy to simply clear the ball and sit in the neutral area than to have offense. They should have more power-play type situations too.

[Yuri33]

My prediction before the Euro Championship started was that Spain is going to win. They've got a lot of talent in the midfield and up front (esp. Torres), and a solid defense.

I too am glad Italy lost. They play ugly football, not just dirty at times, but plain boring. They have no creativity, no brilliance.

Spammer, the lack of goals is largely due to the offsides rule. There must be at least two defenders (including the goalie) between an offensive player and the goal to legally receive the ball (unless they're behind the ball to begin with). Defenses, especially at the professional level, know how to push forward in a coordinated manner to catch offensive players in an illegal position when the ball is passed to them. It's called the offside trap. Players are often times forced to take shots at goal from farther out as a result, or employ a strategy where they work the ball into a corner and send a centering pass towards the center so that a forward can head or volley the ball in.

Plus, step out onto the field sometime and play a little. That goal may look big on TV, but when you're out there, it's not huge. You have kick with your feet--hitting the ball with pace and still maintaining control\aim is a very difficult skill.

[caladanbrood]

The Italy-Netherlands game was by far the best of the tournament so far. Not sure 3-0 was an entirely fair score, but Netherlands certainly deserved to win:)

When Robben and RvP are properly fit, they might not get into the team! I was very impressed by Engelaar (sp?) who I don't think anyone I talked to had ever heard of before either!

So far, Portugal, Germany, Holland and Spain (from the first half of their game) look like the form teams. Biggest dissapointment certainly France, though I had hoped for better from the Czechs and Croatia.


Okay, I have a question about soccer (or I guess you guys call it football... :D). I've never understood why they don't score more goals. The net is so big, and the ball is so small, and yet, not many points are scored. Not ripping on it or anything, just trying to understand! :D
The size of the pitch is also quite significant;) The goal is really not as big as it might seem. I guess the closest American game to it is Ice Hockey, and if you think about that, you've got 5 out-field players on the team at any one point, they're only on for a few minutes , and the rink is tiny!
In comparison with Football, 10 out-field players are on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, they have considerably more distance to cover. One of the biggest reasons, I suspect, is that the speed they can hit a football is considerably less than the speed you can hit a hockey puck at, so it's easier to deal with for goalkeepers.

[Sinistrum]

I'm really liking how group C is breaking down so far. If only there was a way both France and Italy could fail to move on at the group stages, but I'm not holding my breath that Romania will do more than make things interesting for awhile. I really hate both squads, but particularly Italy. I'm with Yuri on the way they play. They're nothing but a bunch of stoopid pasta eating flopping pussified whiners. Also, anyone else see the hat trick David Villa put down on the Russians? The Spanish are looking pretty tough right now.

P.S. I'm with Anaiya in rooting for Deutschland. :D

[Anaiya Sedai]

sweden are winning :D

but, yeah, I think I'm going to have to go with germany this time. they have been waiting to win something again for a while. if not now, when?

[caladanbrood]

Thank god Sweden won. Greece played the most boring football I've seen in a long time.

And Ibrahimovic is in my fantasy team, so that helps;)

[Sei'taer]

Spammer,

It only takes one goal to win...and thats the way a lot of teams play. I think it makes for a boring game, but thats the way a lot of teams do it.

Thank god Sweden won. Greece played the most boring football I've seen in a long time.


Many of the European teams play boring, as far as I'm concerned. I hate the style that France and Italy play, for instance...not to say they are the only ones to do it, because I've seen England and Germany play that way, as well as Greece (you are correct though, from the clips that I saw, that was an incredibly hard game to watch), and Spain and Portugal. I guess thats just the way it is, though...we've talked about it on here before.

[Mort]

Thank god Sweden won. Greece played the most boring football I've seen in a long time.

And Ibrahimovic is in my fantasy team, so that helps;)

Yeah, thank god :) 0-2 baby! Greece played really boring football. Was a little afraid of a loosing game, greece being the european champions last time and all...

And Ibrahimovic better be in your fantasy (team)! :D

[Sarevok]

Congrats on the win, Mort :)

[Mort]

Congrats on the win, Mort :)

Thanks! Next up is Spain (I think) on Saturday. That one will be a tough one I think.

[1Powerslave]

Yaaay! Nice win there for us. First goal a beauty by Zlatan. Second goal by Hansson was funny. Crash the net anyone? Hehe.

Spain will be a very difficult game. But with a little luck and a perfect game by all players we can beat them or any team. We had them in the qualification to the championship. We won at home with 2-0, but it was a tough game. We got the second goal very late in the game when they pushed for the equalizer.
We got crushed (with 4-0 ??) when we faced them in Spain, and had nothing in that game. We can beat them but we have to be on top. I'll be happy if we manage a tie game.

And I agree regarding Greece. Very boring football that. How long are they going to wait for a forward to go after them and get out of position, the whole game? Also I thought they fell a little easy and that they played real ugly in some duels. Kick our star player in the crotch intentionally??? I mean WTF! Kick our players while lying down when the ball is no where near.
Only a so so performance by the refs...

[SauceyBlueConfetti]

Kick our players while lying down when the ball is no where near.
Only a so so performance by the refs...

Maybe I should pay more attention to soccer...errr..football, I mean football. Sounds like as much fun as hockey.

How 'bout our Swedish Wings 1PS? I am assuming the game(s) got some coverage.

[Sinistrum]

Sei I respectfully disagree with your characterization of Spain and Germany as in the same catagory as Italy and France. Germany hasn't played a defensive style since before Jurgen Klinsmann was managing them and they have three of the most aggressive strikers in Euro 2008 in Miroslav Klose, Lucas Podolski, and Mario Gomez. They most certainly did not let off the gas and entrench when they took a 1-0 lead against Poland and as a result they kept the game interesting for most of it.

And don't get me started about Spain. Villa and Torres are an awesome offensive tandom, a 4-1 result is not the product of a boring defensive strategy, and frankly, their defense isn't all that good. They got lucky on a couple of chances that Russian just flat blew, and the score could have easily been 4-3.

You are correct that Italy and France are boring to watch. Furthermore, both squads are among the dirtiest, floppiest, and whiniest squads in the world. I was bored to tears watching France/Romania, and was elated that the Netherlands took it to Italy like they did.

[1Powerslave]

Maybe I should pay more attention to soccer...errr..football, I mean football. Sounds like as much fun as hockey.

How 'bout our Swedish Wings 1PS? I am assuming the game(s) got some coverage.Hehe. I think it is as much fun to watch as hockey or close to it anyway. Not because of the dirty plays though. :)

The games aired in an expensive cable channel that I don't have. They aired at 2 am to boot, but I did stay up a couple of games to listen to them on internet radio. Missed the last game cause I was at a rock festival at the time. When I got home I wallowed in highlights and interviews. GO WINGS! :D
And yeah, great performance by the swedes. Zetterberg really earned playoff MVP.
"Old is oldest" is a swedish saying. Not sure if the meaning gets through translation but it was nice to see that those youngsters lack of experience prevented them from stealing the Cup from us.

[Yuri33]

And don't get me started about Spain. Villa and Torres are an awesome offensive tandom, a 4-1 result is not the product of a boring defensive strategy, and frankly, their defense isn't all that good. They got lucky on a couple of chances that Russian just flat blew, and the score could have easily been 4-3.

Are you kidding me? Spain had 16 shots on goal! The score could have been 6-1. And any team with Puyol as the sweeper is fine with me.

[Sarevok]

Croatia 2 - Germany 1

*hugs Anaiya*
I'm sure you'll do fine against Austria :)

[Sinistrum]

Ugh. I missed the game, but from what I hear it wasn't pretty on either the offensive or defensive sides for Germany. But then again, I guess I can't begrudge Croatia too much. This was, after all, the side that helped knock England out of qualifying.

[caladanbrood]

Croatia have only lost 2 competetive matches in 4 years, apparently, there's something I didn't know before today.

[Sinistrum]

Today has been awesome. Both of the teams I hate the most in terms of country vs. country play went down in flames today! :D Congrats to the Dutch for moving to the quarters. Now do everyone else in the world a favor. Throw the match against Romania so that way both France and Italy get eliminated. :p

[Sarevok]

Yup, we beat France 4 - 1 :D:D

Thanks Sini! But although it does seem does seem tempting, I can't see Van Basten throw the game. He'll probably let some of the lesser players play, though.

[Ivhon]

Here's my problem with football.

The damn whiney floppy fakery that european athletes have long brought to soccer is now infecting American sports (Im thinking specifically of the NBA and its coming flop-fines). Bloody pisses me off.

Play the game or act. Don't do both.

[Sinistrum]

Yeah I know. His style is way to aggressive offensively to allow for that. But I can always hope can't I?

[Mort]

Here's my problem with football.

The damn whiney floppy fakery that european athletes have long brought to soccer is now infecting American sports (Im thinking specifically of the NBA and its coming flop-fines). Bloody pisses me off.

Play the game or act. Don't do both.

Come on now... Basketball was a sissy sport to begin with! :) I want a little more fight club in basketball, then I'll watch! Elbows SHOULD be allowed :D

[Sinistrum]

You Dutchies may have just shot yourselves in the foot by beating Romania today. Italy was able to get through to the quarters, setting the stage for a possible rematch with them in the semi's.

Spain's back line is still suspect, especially with Puyol coming off so early in their last match with a possible injury and Sergio Ramos' tendancy to push too far forward and get caught on breaks. Italy has more than enough talent left in midfield to compensate for the abscene of Pirlo and Gattuso due to suspensions and you can bet that Luca Toni will do a ton of work on Ramos' side of the pitch. Spain could easily choke, yet again, leaving you guys with the unenviable task of trying to beat Italy twice in the same tourney. You guys should have thrown the match today. :p

[Anaiya Sedai]

bah, romania lost :(

germany won against austria though :D (it's just those croatians we don't seem to be getting on with)

[caladanbrood]

Never right the Italians off. They have the knack with tournament football, they could well go all the way to the final.

As long as Portugal get knocked out, I don't care. The list of expletives I could reserve for that bunch of snivelling cheating little... yes well, it's a long list:o

[Sinistrum]

It's not looking good for the German side though. Gomez is playing like crap, Frings is definitely out with broken ribs, and Podolski is ailing as well. They might be able to interchange Frings and Borowski since they play similar defensive styles, but if Podolski can't go, then they'll be struggling for goals, which is something you can't do against a squad like Portugal. The good news it that they will be getting Schweinsteiger back from suspension which will help if Podolski can't go. I'm still waiting for my favorite player in the world, Miroslav Klose, to wake up and start scoring, so hopefully he'll decide to make his presence felt against Ronaldo and Co.

[Mort]

Need to play even at least against Russia today or we are out :( Hopefully we can.

[Sarevok]

Well, the Netherlands beat Romania (2 - 0) and France beat Italy (0 - 2), so Romania is out, and Italy is going to the semi finals. :(

And sorry, Mort, Russia (Dutch coach :D) beat Sweden (2 - 0), so Sweden is out and Russia is in. :)

[GonzoTheGreat]

Well, the Netherlands beat Romania (2 - 0) and France beat Italy (0 - 2), so Romania is out, and Italy is going to the semi finals.
From what I've read, Italy beat France, which actually seems more logical considering that Italy goes through. But I'm sure that's just a detail.

[Sarevok]

Uhm.... yeah... minor detail... sorry...

[Mort]

Dammit! Sweden sucked this game! They didn't have their normal fighting spirit. To top it off Russia were great. They totally deserved to win.

If I wasn't gonna go up early to work tomorrow I would find the closest bar and start pouring em down...

[caladanbrood]

Gah, I'm really annoyed.

My fantasy team is in a little mini-tournament, and despite having the best points difference in my group (about 30 better than anyone else) I still only came third. Dammit!


Urr, good games though;)

[Sarevok]

*sobs*

:'(

[Weird Harold]

*sobs*

:'(
Condolences.

A very good game, though.

[Sarevok]

A very good game, though.
uhm... Are we talking about the same game here? The Netherlands couldn't get a single pass right! :mad:

[Sinistrum]

Yeah it wasn't a very good game at all. Russia sort of dominated. They torn up the Dutch back four and the front line players never really got into any sort of attacking rhythm. How about three out of the four group winners going down to defeat so far in the quarters? Hopefully Spain will buck the trend because goddamn if I want to see Italy anywhere near the finals.

[Weird Harold]

uhm... Are we talking about the same game here? The Netherlands couldn't get a single pass right! :mad:
I'm an American, D'oh. The game went into overtime and had more than one goal -- for a soccer game, that's heart-stopping excitment for an American. :rolleyes:

[Sarevok]

I'm an American, D'oh. The game went into overtime and had more than one goal -- for a soccer game, that's heart-stopping excitment for an American. :rolleyes:
"heart-stopping" is right... :(

[Sinistrum]

YES! The Italians went down to the Spanish today! Take that you pasta eating, flopping, cheating, dirty bruttas! :D