The 2008 Euro Cup Thread

[MrBug708]

Figured we needed a real thread for it :)

Let's go Oranje!

[DaddyTorgo]

figure this should be in the soccer forum :banghead:

[GoldenEagle]

I thought that was a pretty obvious missed hand ball call by the Czech defender. Switzerland should have finished in that sequence, but I thought it was pretty clear it was a handball.

Other than that, I thought it was a pretty boring first match. The goal for the Czechs was bit lucky, as I think the header was just to kill of the counter attack and it wound up leading to a goal.

[MrBug708]

figure this should be in the soccer forum :banghead:

It was changed to Soccer Text sims :)

[cartman]

I really like Portugal as the team to win it all.

[Mike1409]

Anybody bought the game for the 360?

[Flasch186]

Soccer is fighting to become a mainstream sport, no longer to be pushed to the side!!!

[cartman]

Anybody bought the game for the 360?

I planned to pick it up yesterday, but the Best Buy I stopped by while running errands didn't even stock it.

[-apoc-]

Figured we needed a real thread for it :)

Let's go Oranje!

Im with you on that but considering our group I would be extremly happy just to make it out the group stage.

[DaddyTorgo]

goal!

[ISiddiqui]

Well Portugal deserved that win. Some great plays ending up hitting the woodwork for Portugal as well.

[B & B]

What channel was the SWISS/CZECH game on?

[Flasch186]

I believe all games will be on ECL

[ISiddiqui]

What channel was the SWISS/CZECH game on?

In the US? ESPN Classic.

http://www.worldcupontv.com/euro2008ontv/games?tzd=-6

[cartman]

I believe all games will be on ECL

Not all of them. Some are slated for ESPN2.

[ISiddiqui]

MOST are slated for ESPN2. After today only 3 more matches are on ESPN Classic.

Starting June 16, ESPN1 gets in on it. And when the QFs start, it is mostly ESPN and ABC, with one ESPN2 match.

[MIJB#19]

Don't forget to wear orange on game days, if you're going to root for us. ;)

[illinifan999]

Anybody bought the game for the 360?

I have it and am enjoying it. The Captain your country mode is a lot of fun, and the game just runs nice. It's an improvement over FIFA08 for sure.

[MrBug708]

Don't forget to wear orange on game days, if you're going to root for us. ;)

Well, I am Dutch so it's natural for me to root for them :)

[samifan24]

I enjoyed watching the Czech/Swiss game and am going to watch as many matches as I can. I've never followed this tournament before so it should be fun.

[GoldenEagle]

I can't stand Portugal. I was pulling for them hard to lost today. I can't stand from Ronaldo to Nani to that punk Scolari. I was hoping the Turks would beat them. But how can you let Pepe run through untouched like that? He is a central defender. That was pretty crap defending.

[Icy]

I have it and am enjoying it. The Captain your country mode is a lot of fun, and the game just runs nice. It's an improvement over FIFA08 for sure.

Agree, I have i for the Ps3 and the captain your country mode is really great.

[Sgran]

The Portugal match was a good one. Turkey looked completely disorganized and should have lost by much more. It will be interesting to see if they can regroup. Personally i think they're done.

[MIJB#19]

No surprising results in Group A. I didn't see the Switzerland-Czech Republic game, but a 1-0 score for one of the sides was about the thing to expect. Maybe 1-1 or 0-0 would have made the most sense going into the game, but 2 games is a truckload of goals for a tournament opening match. Portugal failed to slaughter Turkey, that played like they were a tiny country trying to avoid a 7-0 deficit. And it worked well, they lost by only two goals.

[MikeVic]

So since my dad is Croatian and my mom is Polish... I don't have to tell any of you I'll be watching today's games. :p

[B & B]

Going in, thoughts were that Austria was the worst team playing.

Croatia could have easily been tied as they were outplayed for the majority of the second half.

Neither team is going anywhere in this one.

Germany will likely romp Poland 3-0 or so in the afternoon game up next.

[MIJB#19]

wow

[MJ4H]

A+

[Fighter of Foo]

France's coach is an idiot.

[ISiddiqui]

Netherlands :D

Great match by them, and as the US commentators (well, British commentators hired by the US based ESPN ;)) pointed out, one of the reasons we love the Dutch is even though they are up 2-0, they are still attacking and not going into an Italy like defensive shell (I think it was Andy Grey who kept pointing that out).

Unfortunately Holland is known for playing very well in the opening matches, but not being so great later on. Hopefully they can continue this.

And Donadoni not starting Del Piero, Wow. :confused:

[DaddyTorgo]

just watched Italy-Netherlands

WTF...WTMFF????

Donadoni has to go

[BishopMVP]

As an ex-referee/linesman, I agree with the non-offsides call on the 1st Dutch goal. He had been knocked down (by Buffon) 5 seconds earlier. The 2nd goal was an absolutely clinical counter-attack with a perfect finish.

I'm surprised France looked as bad as they did. Looks like their game against Italy will be an early knockout game for one of the favorites.

Anyone know why Quaresma didn't start in Portugal's game? Is he injured, or does the coach just favor Ronaldo, Nani and Nuno Gomes over him?

[MrBug708]

Woot!

[SirFozzie]

As an ex-referee/linesman, I agree with the non-offsides call on the 1st Dutch goal. He had been knocked down (by Buffon) 5 seconds earlier. The 2nd goal was an absolutely clinical counter-attack with a perfect finish.

I'm surprised France looked as bad as they did. Looks like their game against Italy will be an early knockout game for one of the favorites.

Anyone know why Quaresma didn't start in Portugal's game? Is he injured, or does the coach just favor Ronaldo, Nani and Nuno Gomes over him?

He was off side, he had enough time to get back on side, and didn't. If the Italian defender had come back on the pitch, sure.. but they do have a point on the first goal.

Thank god they played like crap the rest of the way so they can't treat it like they did the guy from South Korea who scored the winning goal back in 2002 World Cup.

[BishopMVP]

He was off side, he had enough time to get back on side, and didn't. If the Italian defender had come back on the pitch, sure.. but they do have a point on the first goal.

Thank god they played like crap the rest of the way so they can't treat it like they did the guy from South Korea who scored the winning goal back in 2002 World Cup.The Italian defender had been knocked down only seconds earlier and there was no indication he was injured or acknowledgment by the ref he was out of the play. As a linesman that far away from the play/player, I would assume the player is still in play until the referee signals otherwise. (Of course, I don't know what the rulebook says on it other than what Tommy Smyth said at halftime.)

Definitely agreed it's better that the Netherlands added the later goals so its merely an academic discussion.

[bhlloy]

He was off side, he had enough time to get back on side, and didn't. If the Italian defender had come back on the pitch, sure.. but they do have a point on the first goal.


Not according to the rules. There is a specific article in the rulebook for this. From the BBC website:
article 11.4.1. of the refereeing code that states "an opposing player cannot be offside when one of the last two defenders has left the field of play"

You can maybe argue it isn't fair that an injured player can be playing someone onside, but that's a hell of a grey area to get into, especially in soccer. Can you tell when somebody is genuinely injured, as opposed to taking a fall behind the line because they are way out of position and playing someone onside? In theory, on a corner you could have your two guys on the post fall down inside the goal line, every body else clear the box and the other team are going to be offside on any ball back into the area. Sure it's an extreme and stupid example, but how would you prove they didn't just both get really bad cramp :)

I think it's a solid rule. The other option leaves the potential of an even bigger mess, IMO.

[SirFozzie]

Ah! Didn't know that rule.. then yes, good goal.

[MIJB#19]

Unfortunately Holland is known for playing very well in the opening matches, but not being so great later on. Hopefully they can continue this.Known for playing very well in the opening matches? :D Not overhere in the Netherlands, everybody still thinks that we're at our worst in game one. I'd love to find out it holds true for this tournament, but I'm not sure we can keep this up. People were cheering like we've already won the tournament, but we haven't even reached the quarter finals yet. Not to mention that it was easily the best game in like eight years, our team amazed me. Aside from minutes 55 through 75m which were nervous and felt like it took an hour to end the Italian offensve with that 3rd goal, I had no idea our team could be this good and humiliate the world champs.

Anyway, take that for Euro2000. 3-0, baby!

[daedalus]

France's coach is an idiot.that's been said numerous times.

and each time true. :D

[SirFozzie]

Not according to the rules. There is a specific article in the rulebook for this. From the BBC website:
article 11.4.1. of the refereeing code that states "an opposing player cannot be offside when one of the last two defenders has left the field of play"


Here's a BBC Story dedicated to that call.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2008/7445476.stm

[Critch]

France's coach is an idiot.

Yeah, what kind of idiot thinks astrology has an affect on sport teams?! :)

[cthomer5000]

My guess about the basic principle behind the rule that comes into play there is probably something like "every player is active as long as the play is still active."

Something of that spirit would make sense to me, since it would remove tons of gray area for the ref to know whether someone was leaving the field by accident or simply going out of their own free will.

It makes sense to me that the goal should count. It was one continuous play, i don't think it's reasonably for the linesman or ref to be able to decide in real time the validity of a player leaving the field of play and still do their job.

BTW, it's amazing how unlikely that sort of scenario is when you think about it. you needed the collision knocking a defender out of bounds, and the ball to stay in play, AND a goal to be actually scored, AND that goal to be scored from an (apparently) offisde position. I would bet most refs go man years without needed to make a call in a situation like that.

[3ric]

From uefa.com:
"If we did not have this interpretation of the player being off the pitch then what could happen is that the defending team could use the tactic of stepping off the pitch deliberately to play players offside, and that clearly is unacceptable."

[MIJB#19]

Enough about Van Nistelrooij's goal, it's declared valid and was only 33% of the production. And boosted the overall goals per game average up by only 0.3.

Group D kicks off today and I think it's the most open group. Spain is inconsistent, aside from their inability to reach semifinals, they can be great one day and horrible the other. Russia receives the Hiddink asteriks as for some reason his teams always play above their heads. Greece-Sweden could be play-in for the right to challenge the other two, I think the loser is pretty much done, while the winner would be in a good position to make it to the quarterfinals. Plus, it's a perfect opportunity for Greece to prove they were no fluke.

[DaddyTorgo]

GOOOOOOOOOOO SPAINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[Ajaxab]

It's time ESPN got rid of Tommy Smyth and put Andy Gray in the booth next to Derek Rae. Smyth just adds nothing to a broadcast. We don't learn anything about the game and he is simply not entertaining. Time to put Tommy through the ol' onion bag and bid him farewell.

[Galaxy]

Sweden looks like they win take the game.

I love how how this tournament is on ESPN/ESPN2. Seems like a big move forward for the growth for soccer in the US.

[BishopMVP]

Big game for David Villa and a fantastic strike out of nowhere by Ibrahimovic to break the bunkering Greek defense.

Time for round 2 and teams needing to press a little more.

[MIJB#19]

Quick preview of the second round of games:

Group A
Wed 11 Czech Rep - Portugal | Both teams won their first game, which pretty much means the winner will advance to the quarterfinals, likely even as group winners. Portugal's better goal difference has them a top the group right now, but the Czech Republic might be willing to settle for a draw. MIJ prediction: 1-1 draw
Wed 11 Switzerland - Turkey | It's do or die. Neither team can afford to lose, unless the team they lost to in game 1 wins again. That means there's no reason to sit back and wait. Sadly, that's not always how it works and the can't afford to lose idea sometimes ends up being a draw is okay attitude. MIJ prediction: 2-1 Swizterland
MIJ projected standings: Por 2-4, Cze 2-4, Swi 2-3, Tur 2-0; Tur eliminated

Group B
Thu 12 Croatia - Germany | What I wrote for Czech Rep-Portugal is also true for this game. Both sides can afford to settle for a draw, but they also know a win means being shoo-in for the group win. MIJ prediction: 0-0 draw
Thu 12 Austria - Poland | Do or die, just like with the Swiss and the Turks. Poland didn't look bad against Germany, but that's typical Germany: looking bad and still winning. Austria was unlucky in their first game and Poland should be the team to beat. Of course, it works two ways as Poland also has to win this one to remain in the race, but a draw would keep both teams alive for at least four more days. MIJ prediction: 1-1 draw
MIJ projected standings: Ger 2-4, Cro 2-4, Aut 2-1, Pol 2-1; no clinchers

Group C
Fri 13 Italy - Romania | Forget what was, Italy is still alive and kicking, The goalless draw between France and Romania but Italy in a win+win=in situation. The Romanias apparently are still celebrating from game one and will probably go all-Italian. Do or die for the blue team, while the yellow guys can still survive after a loss. MIJ prediction: 1-0 Italy
Fri 13 Netherlands - France | France failed to beat Romania, but not losing there means it's all wide open. As long as they win one of their last two games, they should be able to sneak into the elite eight. Heck, they might even settle for low-scoring draw. The Dutch think it's already in the bag and that's usually a dangerous situation. A win would put them into the quarterfinals and we all know they won't settle for a draw. Afraid to be either too optimistic or pesimistic, MIJ precidtion: 1-1 draw
MIJ projected standings: Ned 2-4, Ita 2-3, Fra 2-2, Rom 2-1; no clinchers

Group D
Sat 14 Sweden - Spain | With a big win in the bag, an easy draw would be plenty to stay healthy and get ready for game three. It counts for Spain, but also for Sweden. Obviously a win would be huge, but not losing is much more important in this situation. Thankfully it's neither country's nature to sit back and wait, so we should see a goal or two. MIJ prediction: 1-1 draw
Sat 14 Greece - Russia | Ouch. It was impossible to deny that Russia looked horrible in their first game. It seems to be their nature as they always seem to have one of those big losses in finals tournaments. Playing against Greece, there's an opportunity to prove they are worthy afterall. Greece wasn't all that impressive either in game one and with this clash, one of these two might get back in the race with a win. It'll probably prove to be a meaningless game, but that doesn't mean they won't go for it. MIJ prediction: Russia 4-2
MIJ projected standings: Spa 2-4, Swe 2-4, Rus 2-3, Gre 2-0; Gre eliminated

[ISiddiqui]

Wow... Spain looked pretty good. Look at that, you put David Villa up there with Torres and... instant offense!

[bhlloy]

As stupid as it is to make predictions after one game of a tournament (how many times has a team scraped through the group with a win and a tie and won?) I think this could definitely be Spain's year.

Holland looked good, but Spain were just unbelievable going forward. They could have easily had 7 or 8, and Torres didn't have his best game.

[ISiddiqui]

But we are talking about Spain here. They always find a way to mess it up ;).

And their defense did NOT look that good in the match.

[Critch]

I'm hoping for Spain to win this year. The BBC always goes on about Spain underachieving at Euros and World Cups, so a Spain championship would shut them up and force them to admit that England are Europe's underachieving football "power".

[Ryan S]

I'm hoping for Spain to win this year. The BBC always goes on about Spain underachieving at Euros and World Cups, so a Spain championship would shut them up and force them to admit that England are Europe's underachieving football "power".


Spain underachieve at major championships. England underachieve in the qualifying stages and end up watching the tournament at home.

[Fighter of Foo]

Hopefully Spain will play the Dutch at some point. I'd love to see a 5-3 game in this tourney.

[MJ4H]

First game today was terrific to watch (cze-por).

[-apoc-]

Brutal end to the Turkey - Swiss match imo. Fun game to watch though in all that rain.

[MIJB#19]

Group A results are in and they mean Portugal goes through, while Switzerland is done. Get ready for penalty kicks in the Tukey-Czech Republic group game, because if neither side wins in regulation, penalty kicks will decide which of them advances.

[illinifan999]

Germany-Croatia. Wow.

[Galaxy]

Austria likes to run-and-gun, so to speak.

[molson]

I love how how this tournament is on ESPN/ESPN2. Seems like a big move forward for the growth for soccer in the US.

This is the first year I've even been aware of something called the "Euro Cup", and now I'm TIVOing all the games and following it pretty closely.

[Galaxy]

Wow....

[B & B]

Garbage call, garbage tie.

[MIJB#19]

That last minute goal means you can strike Poland off your list of candidates for the championship. Unless they beat group winners Croatia and Austria beats Germany by a goal less and while scoring as much or less goals than Poland, the Polish are done. Germany advances with a win or draw, Austria only with a win and if Poland doesn't do the aforementioned.

[cougarfreak]

Both of tomorrow's games should be dandys. Now that I'm done teaching for the school year, I may have to fire up a game of Football Manager.

[Galaxy]

Garbage call, garbage tie.

Both goals were.

[ISiddiqui]

Nice job Croatia! They looked like the team I thought they'd be (and put the Austria game behind them).

[SirFozzie]

Somebody check the bridges in Italy, Romania leads!

[SirFozzie]

Don't call it a comeback! Cancel the suicide warning, but keep an eye out.

[illinifan999]

oh boy

[illinifan999]

oh no he didn't

[Critch]

what a save.

[-apoc-]

Very questionable penalty on Italy there. Buffon saves however.

I actually disagree with that. The defender had him in a damn chokehold and was pulling him back on his way to meet the cross. It may not always be called but I dont think that makes it a questionable one. The one from the Austria game was way softer imo but anytime the defender has his arm around the attacker in the box he is taking a chance.

I really had mixed feelings about that game overall. The ref seemed to favor the Romanias in most of the 50-50 calls. Plus the legit Italy goal waved off so I can see where they would feel hard done by. However I think they brought alot of it on themselves also constantly looking for calls and going down like they were a sack of potatos constantly so I don't really feel that sorry for them.

This next game will be tough for me due to my love of Arsenal since half of France play or have played for them but Holland will always come first and I want to qualify now without a tough game vs Romania to close it out. So 3-0 in the first 15 mins to the Dutch please.

[MrBug708]

Go Dutch :)

[-apoc-]

Good opening 20-25 mins for us but France really had us on the back foot for the second part of the half. Hopefully we can get reorganized and nick one on the counter early to kill the game off.

[SirFozzie]

Anyone who thinks soccer is boring should watch today's game.

[SirFozzie]

Corniest line ever after that last goal.

"It's a Dutch Oven, and the French are Toast!"

[MIJB#19]

wow

[MIJB#19]

I hope we save something for the next four games. It wasn't all pretty, heck, I even think we were weaker than France for most of the game and a good chunk of the game vs Italy. Seven goals against the World Cup finalists, that's freakin' amazing.

[-apoc-]

Awesome is really all I can say. I really didnt think we were going to make it out of this group and we go and win it after 2 games is just fan-fucking-tastic.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Anyone who thinks soccer is boring should watch today's game.

Speaking of this, I headed out to grab some coffee this afternoon and was passing by this wine bar in the lobby of my building. They have two tvs in there with the game on. I slowed up to check the score and saw Henry score. It happened so fast that I was sure I had to be watching replays, but it was live. Then, a few seconds later Robben scores.

Pretty good timing on my part...

[AlexB]

wow

You should be feeling pretty good right now - 7-1 aggregate scoreline against the two WC finalists two years ago.

Looking very good right now, and playing good football as well. I thought the press was pretty down on the Dutch pre-tournament?

[cthomer5000]

The Robben goal immediately after Henry got them back in it was crazy. THe highlights the Dutch have produced alone have made this a great tournament.

They're the team i've been offically rooting for, so im pumped that they're through as group winners.

I wonder if they'll be tempted to not quite give it their all in the 3rd game... knowing that a result for Romania would eliminate Italy and France.

[3ric]

Watching Sweden-Spain right now. Zlatan Ibrahimovic!

[samifan24]

And Ibrahimovic comes off at half-time.

[DaddyTorgo]

little bit behind on the sweeden-spain game (20 mins in right now) - nice goal by torres though

[kingfc22]

wow

[samifan24]

David Villa is unbelievable.

[DaddyTorgo]

86mins in - i'm guessing I still have something to see

[DaddyTorgo]

damn...david villa FTW

viva espana!!

i'm pulling for them - love to see them get the monkey off their back and win a major

[B & B]

Eleven hundred dollar swing for me as I had bet on the draw.

[DaddyTorgo]

ouch

[3ric]

And Ibrahimovic comes off at half-time.

We lost the game there - without him the best Sweden could hope for was a tie.

[MIJB#19]

You should be feeling pretty good right now - 7-1 aggregate scoreline against the two WC finalists two years ago.Heh, really, I've been feeling good about these players ever since I glanced over the 26 remaining names. In fact, as crazy as it sounds, Babel's dropping out may have even boosted it, I'm a huge Boulahrouz fan (hey, he's from my home town!) We have the guys to decide games. But so far they managed to hide it very well in Oranje. We had two good games at the World Cup, but that was it.


Last night I got asked who's that Ribery guy? I said, he's the French combo of Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder. After the game, there was a simple conclusion was: France has Ribery, we've got three (of those).
Looking very good right now, and playing good football as well. I thought the press was pretty down on the Dutch pre-tournament?It wasn't just the press, I think 95% of soccer fans were unhappy with our team and the selection choices of Van Basten (Van Nistelrooij was written off as being over the top). The qualification campaign was horrific, 1-0 in the last minute, goodness, we're not Germany or Italy. We've got our own identity, play ball! It was nothing close to what we've seen in these two games. And yes, it's amazing how people are rolling over the streets now about how great this team is. The results are there, but I remain to be cautious, the majority of the second half versus Italy and of the first half against France were nervous as hell. Good thing we've got that Edwin van der Sar wearing the #1 jersey. People are now talking about starting the backups and giving Romania a free pass into the quarterfinals. The same team that dominated us in the qualification round. Don't get me wrong, when our team plays, they're still our guys and we'll root for them. It's our nature, we, the Dutch are a bunch of complainers. :D

[daedalus]

am i evil if i want van basten to rest all regulars and give romania an easy win?

[cthomer5000]

I wouldn't mind the Dutch taking a dive either to knock those two teams out.

[samifan24]

Huge match today between Turkey and the Czech Republic.

[MIJB#19]

Just in time, ;)

Scenarios for round three of group play:

Group A
Portugal clinched group victory
Winner of Czech Republic-Turkey finishes 2nd, loser finishes 3rd. Note that if the game ends tied after 90 minutes, there will be no extra time, but there will be penalty kicks to get a winner.
Switzerland have been eliminated (clinched 4th place)

Group B
Croatia clinched group victory
Germany finishes second with a win or draw (they finish third with a loss and Poland loss or draw; they finish fourth with a loss and Poland win)
Austria finishes second with a win and a Poland loss or draw (making Poland finish fourth)
Austria finishes second with a win and a Poland win, providing: they either win with the same goal difference, or win by one goal less and score more goals than Poland (making Poland finishing third)
Poland finishes second with a win and an Austria loss, providing: they win by two goals more, or win by one goal more and score as much or more goals than Austria (making Austria finishing third)

Group C
Netherlands clinched group victory
France finishes second with a win and a Romania loss or draw
Romania finishes second with:
* a win,
* or a draw combined with an Italy-France draw,
* or a loss by two goals or less and a 0-0 draw between Italy and France
Italy finishes second with:
* a win and a Romania loss or draw,
* or with a 1-1 or higher draw and a Romania loss,
* or with a 0-0 draw and a Romania loss by four goals,
* or with a 0-0 draw and a Romania loss by 3-0
I'll spare the details on third and fourth place

Group D
Spain clinched group victory
Sweden finishes second with a win or draw (making Russia finish third)
Russian finishes second with a win (making Sweden finish third)
Greece eliminated ('clinched' fourth place)

[Crapshoot]

I wouldn't mind the Dutch taking a dive either to knock those two teams out.

yup. Domenech is an idiot.

At this point, I'm wondering when Spain and Holland will self-destruct - it wouldn't be a major international tournament without it. :D

[DaddyTorgo]

dutch won't dive

[MIJB#19]

yup. Domenech is an idiot.

At this point, I'm wondering when Spain and Holland will self-destruct - it wouldn't be a major international tournament without it. :DSpain in the quarterfinals, us in the semis. Incredible, we're going to let Romania cakewalk into the final! :eek:

[cougarfreak]

If you're the dutch, do you rest up in your third game?

[DaddyTorgo]

just heard from the announcers on the euro games today that paraguay is 2-0 up on brazil

[miami_fan]

Are you kidding me?!

[SirFozzie]

Holee shit, we're gonna have PK's in a Group Stage Game, what a howler.

[SirFozzie]

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

[Crapshoot]

What a fucking amazing game. Can't match this.

[miami_fan]

Holee shit, we're gonna have PK's in a Group Stage Game, what a howler.

Uh no. We are not. I don't think. This 2nd half has been amazing

[MIJB#19]

OMG, what a dramatic game.

[Crapshoot]

WTF? DID THE GOALIE JUST GET SENT OFF!

[SirFozzie]

Goalie sent off! WTF next?

[miami_fan]

What was that all about?!

[MIJB#19]

Nihat's golas or not, Tuncay gets my vote for player of the game.

[Crapshoot]

This ref is a fucking idiot. Seriously.

[SirFozzie]

Guy said something nasty the goalie, goalie wigs out and pushes the Czech attacker, Czech attacker sells it hard, ref sees it. red card.

[Crapshoot]

I'm glad I watched that 2nd half. Surreal performance.

[Sgran]

Hands down, the craziest match I've ever seen. Even better than Slovenia-Yugoslavia in 2000. But I have to say that even with 75 minutes gone I knew that Turkey would at least make it close. But that crazy ending?

[MIJB#19]

This ref is a fucking idiot. Seriously.Nah, he had no choice but to sent him off. If somebody has to be called that, it's Volkan for putting a 3-2 victory at risk.

[Sgran]

Guy said something nasty the goalie, goalie wigs out and pushes the Czech attacker, Czech attacker sells it hard, ref sees it. red card.

But that's been consistent. Any extra-curricular and you're done.

[Celeval]

Instant Classic? I may need to find and DVR this one.

[MIJB#19]

Hands down, the craziest match I've ever seen. Even better than Slovenia-Yugoslavia in 2000. But I have to say that even with 75 minutes gone I knew that Turkey would at least make it close. But that crazy ending?
Yeah, the Czechs were totally choking, as soon as the 2-1 fell, I was getting ready for the spot kicks. Craziness that they even avoided those. I'll take my hat off for Turkey's incredible comeback aftersuch a pathetic first half.

[miami_fan]

A smile comes to my face every time I see a team get a goal scored on them while they are begging for an offsides call like that last Turkish goal.

[MrBug708]

Great second half

[samifan24]

Wow, what an amazing finish!

[scooter]

All credit to the Turks, they played an inspirational second half. But I've got to say, I've Tivoed the game and went back and watched the play where Polak got kicked in the head in the Turk penalty box about four times. That was a dangerous play by the Turk defender (Polak was not diving and therefore not "being brave" - the defenders foot ends up above his own head). That should have been a penalty, 3-0 and game over. If it had been hockey, the Turks would have had to kill off a 4 minute penalty!

The officiating in both games today did not live up to a European CHAMPIONSHIPS standard (best refs in Europe - pfft!).

[bhlloy]

All credit to the Turks, they played an inspirational second half. But I've got to say, I've Tivoed the game and went back and watched the play where Polak got kicked in the head in the Turk penalty box about four times. That was a dangerous play by the Turk defender (Polak was not diving and therefore not "being brave" - the defenders foot ends up above his own head). That should have been a penalty, 3-0 and game over. If it had been hockey, the Turks would have had to kill off a 4 minute penalty!

The officiating in both games today did not live up to a European CHAMPIONSHIPS standard (best refs in Europe - pfft!).

Isn't that by rule an indirect free kick? Or am I thinking of something else?

[cthomer5000]

All credit to the Turks, they played an inspirational second half. But I've got to say, I've Tivoed the game and went back and watched the play where Polak got kicked in the head in the Turk penalty box about four times. That was a dangerous play by the Turk defender (Polak was not diving and therefore not "being brave" - the defenders foot ends up above his own head). That should have been a penalty, 3-0 and game over. If it had been hockey, the Turks would have had to kill off a 4 minute penalty!

The officiating in both games today did not live up to a European CHAMPIONSHIPS standard (best refs in Europe - pfft!).

never in a million years would that PK be given. in any tournament, ever.

[scooter]

Isn't that by rule an indirect free kick? Or am I thinking of something else?

Except that it happened inside the 6-yard box. You are correct though, it would only be an indirect free kick from the spot of the foul (I'm not sure why, getting kicked in the head is far more dangerous than a tackle from behind). I think I've seen indirect free kicks taken from there but it is a nightmare to setup for the referee as you essentially end up with about 18 players in the goalmouth.

[cougarfreak]

What in god's name? The ref just sent off both the German and Austrian coach.

[samifan24]

What in god's name? The ref just sent off both the German and Austrian coach.

Yeah, that was crazy. I've never watched much international football before, aside from the World Cup, and I never played much as a kid, but why would the ref ever do this? It's not like the coaches were fighting or even screaming at each other ala the NHL playoffs.

[cougarfreak]

Quite a blast by Ballack.

[ISiddiqui]

I wouldn't mind the Dutch taking a dive either to knock those two teams out.

I would. With the way the French attacked during the game, it'd be shame to see them get bounced in favor of a more boring Romania side. I like me some entertaining football.

[MIJB#19]

Excellent, we're pretty much starting the second-stringers tonight. That should keep all but three players happy for now. Henk Timmer (goalkeeper #3), Jan Vennegoor (striker #3) and Mario Melchiot (right back #2, but injured) are the only guys who are kept on the bench. Only Khalid Boulahrouz and Orlando Engelaar are staying from the first two games. That is, if you consider a front four of Robin van Persie, Ibrahim Afellay, Arjen Robben and Klaas Jan Huntelaar as second string.

[-apoc-]

Good game by the "backups" and both Melchiot and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink got to play. The only unfortunate thing about this is that Italy got through but hopefully Spain will take care of them and really tire themselves out in the process :)

[BishopMVP]

And France is done. Apparently Raymond Domenech misread the Tarot cards.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'm not looking at how today's games went, but I love how they're obsessed with calling cassano the "enfant terrible of italian soccer" - LOL

[daedalus]

I would. With the way the French attacked during the game, it'd be shame to see them get bounced in favor of a more boring Romania side. I like me some entertaining football.ummm . . . Well... bunkering isn't all that bad... it works for the Italians ;). Though I think they did well against the #1 in the world. I remember reading that before the friendly at Wembley some England players said when they shook hands, some Americans' hands were shaking. Perhaps the bunker ideal was to keep the players from feeling too scared? Who knows.who what now?

[daedalus]

Excellent, we're pretty much starting the second-stringers tonight. That should keep all but three players happy for now. Henk Timmer (goalkeeper #3), Jan Vennegoor (striker #3) and Mario Melchiot (right back #2, but injured) are the only guys who are kept on the bench. Only Khalid Boulahrouz and Orlando Engelaar are staying from the first two games. That is, if you consider a front four of Robin van Persie, Ibrahim Afellay, Arjen Robben and Klaas Jan Huntelaar as second string.i don't know, playing the glassmen (robben and van persie) in a relatively meaningless game seems silly.

[cthomer5000]

The French really just never showed up to the tournament. Italy could easily turn it around and win this whole thing. I think everyone could end up regretting that Romania couldn't get it done against the Dutch backups.

[Icy]

Spain is going to play 11 backups today vs Greece, still will watch it or i would lose my Spanish citizenship.

[MIJB#19]

i don't know, playing the glassmen (robben and van persie) in a relatively meaningless game seems silly.Yeah, agreed there. Feel free to add Ibrahim Afellay to that list of men of glass as well. ;) As far as I know, Van Basten's thinking was giving them another friendly game to get some extra action before the quarterfinals.

[MIJB#19]

Oh boy, Guus Hiddink does it again!

[ISiddiqui]

ummm . . . who what now?

I think you failed to comprehend the context there. Bunkering isn't that bad... when you want to win a game.

However, exciting football is better to watch.

[ISiddiqui]

Oh boy, Guus Hiddink does it again!

Yep, and Russia looked AMAZING! Russia - Holland may be end to end action. It'll be fun :).

[DaddyTorgo]

i'm pissed - I tried to tape spain-greece but they flipped the games/channels or whatever so I taped sweeden-russia

*pouts*

[ISiddiqui]

i'm pissed - I tried to tape spain-greece but they flipped the games/channels or whatever so I taped sweeden-russia

*pouts*

Yeah, I noticed that... I was home because I had a doc's appointment and took the rest of the day off (not to watch soccer or anything :cool: ) and say they moved the games. Kind of crappy in this day of Tivos and DVRs to do that without prior warning.

[daedalus]

I think you failed to comprehend the context there. Bunkering isn't that bad... when you want to win a game.i think bunkering is bad, both as a strategy and for the game.

the issue could be in our definitions of bunkering. i think of bunkering as having everybody but, say, one striker in the defensive third, behind the ball and hope for a draw. a team with some decent long-range shots and/or a decent plan B (read: not the fucking gooners . . . bastards) could, if not should, eventually beat you.

i do not define it as playing a very tight formation and cautious football, for example, say maybe the greeks in euro '04 or what we generally think of as italian-style of footie. i still think it's day old dog turd and crap for footie as a sport but not nearly as disgusting.However, exciting football is better to watch.or, better yet, the only footie worth watching. i don't even need "exciting". just at least attacking minded footie with some above average skill would happifies me.

[Icy]

i'm pissed - I tried to tape spain-greece but they flipped the games/channels or whatever so I taped sweeden-russia

*pouts*

You did not miss anything, besides the last 15 minutes of Spain dominating with Greece players totally inside their own area.

Greece is the anti-football, not any skill besides headers on strategic fouls, then just bunkering, stopping the play all the time with fouls, falling down on purpose, etc etc. It was an ugly game with all the stoppage generated by Greece trying to kill the time as they got the early lead with a good header goalfrom a fault. Luckily Spainish backups (10 of the starting 11 were usual backups) played a great second half despite the efforts of Greece to make an ugly game.

[3ric]

Sweden playing for the draw was a sure way of losing the game - Russia showed us how it should be done, but I'm afraid the current management will stick around and continue in their set ways.

[ISiddiqui]

i think bunkering is bad, both as a strategy and for the game.

the issue could be in our definitions of bunkering. i think of bunkering as having everybody but, say, one striker in the defensive third, behind the ball and hope for a draw. a team with some decent long-range shots and/or a decent plan B (read: not the fucking gooners . . . bastards) could, if not should, eventually beat you.

i do not define it as playing a very tight formation and cautious football, for example, say maybe the greeks in euro '04 or what we generally think of as italian-style of footie. i still think it's day old dog turd and crap for footie as a sport but not nearly as disgusting.

Most people would call what the Greeks play as bunkering. And it's been a fairly successful strategy for them (compare their results with their talent level). It can be very successful for a team that is totally outmatched talent wise.

[MIJB#19]

And what kind of success, it made Greece the most unexpected tournament winners in the history of soccer (no, Denmark does'nt qualify with Peter Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup). I have to admit that I felt good about them being the cupcakes of this tournament. It points out that most of the time it just makes the difference between losing by 3 goals and losing by 1 goal.

[Radii]

2-1 now! I'm glad I didn't turn it off when Germany scored their second goal, this should be a great second half.

[Celeval]

Germany running away with it, 3-1 now...

[Crapshoot]

Good game. This has been a great tournament - definitely higher quality than the World Cup. Turkey - Czech Republic may be one of the best sporting events I have ever seen.

[ISiddiqui]

Nice ending to that game. The late goal by Postiga made the end really interesting.

[cthomer5000]

Set pieces killed it for Portugal obviously. Aside from that I thought it was very even. This tournament has been fantastic so far all-in-all, it's great to be able to come home from work every day and have a good game to watch.

[Chief Rum]

the issue could be in our definitions of bunkering. i think of bunkering as having everybody but, say, one striker in the defensive third, behind the ball...

We call this style "Italian".

[DaddyTorgo]

had a great thought re:cutting down faking and diving

obviously you can't seek to control it during the run of play, but what if you had postgame review and issued postgame "cards" (call them what you will) for dives and faking injuries and after a certain number the player had to miss a game or whatever? given it wouldn't be perfect, but would it really be worse than the game is now?

[ISiddiqui]

Funny thing is for all the talk about Portugese diving, the German diving was far more blatant. Andy Grey even called it out a few times.

[DaddyTorgo]

oh I agree isiddiqui - in fact it was ballack's dive that made me think of this idea

[ISiddiqui]

That was just shameful... I mean come on! And then the ref didn't buy it and he STILL flopped around!

[samifan24]

I don't understand all this flopping in soccer. If you did that crap in football or hockey you'd get your ass kicked.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, I don't understand why you'd flop in baseball in the first place ;).

But in football, WRs do exaggerate for pass interference calls... there are less fouls for getting tackled though.

[scooter]

I had an idea this afternoon while I was watching the game. It seems in this tournament (more than I remember in just plain old league games) that players are going down under challenges and it's almost like they are listening to the crowd. If the crowd starts going nuts (the other team is attacking the other way), they roll around until the other team kicks the ball out or the referee stops play. If there is no immediate danger (the other team is not really attacking), they get up and "walk it off". If the referee does stop play, a lot of players are then taking the opportunity to show the referee the injury, complain, etc.

So I had an idea: if a player goes down and stays down, they must leave the field of play and remain off the field for 2 full minutes of playing time (like in hockey as in the ball is actually in play, not chasing after a ball kicked out, etc.). The fourth official would be in charge of keeping the time (what else do they have to do?) and permitting the player to re-enter the field of play. If the manager wants to make a substitution, then that would negate having to wait the full time (an injury like Ribery when you know the player can not continue). If 2 minutes doesn't seem like enough time, make it 4 minutes.

What I would hope this would do is make players really think about staying down after a challenge. Do they really need treatment? Is it worth playing a man down for 2 (or 4) minutes to point out to the referee that you feel you should have been awarded a free kick? Or do you just get up and play on? If they do need treatment, the 2 minutes will do them some good as they will be able to get all the treatment they need off the field (and play can continue). I also feel that any player that rolls over more than two times after being fouled should be automatically yellow carded. It's just a disgrace to see some of these "professionals" acting like children.

[BishopMVP]

oh I agree isiddiqui - in fact it was ballack's dive that made me think of this ideaRonaldo's fake injury was also terrible. He actually waited like 3 seconds until he started grabbing the "injury". And I thought he had gotten some of that out of his system in the EPL. I guess being around Portugese players brings it out.

Portugal deserved to lose for leaving Quaresma on the bench. Nani and Postinga may have combined for a nice goal, but he's still better than both and Simao played pretty poorly all tournament.

Also, DT, on the Spain-Greece switch, espn360.com should work for you. It does for me both in Concord and in Amherst, although the connection is obviously a little choppier here than at school.

[Mac Howard]

They need to go back to the referee deciding on whether the game should be stopped when an injury occurs. Currently players are being intimidated by the crowd to stop the play - how often do you see an opposition player in response to the crowd try to carry on but then slow down, stop, look around him, listen to the opposition fans whistle and boo and then kick the ball out. The sportsmanship aspect of this has disappeared from the game now. It's just being abused by players. And referees are currently shirking their responsibilities in this and leaving the decision up to the players.

The players can tell if a player is in dire need of treatment and can stop the game in that circumstance if the referee doesn't know it - that only occurs about once every 10 matches or more. But the pressure on a player to stop the game should be removed by FIFA stating that the ref stops the game in all but the most extreme circumstances. I believe the Premiership have stated that but the crowd still gets on to the players and forces a stop. A loud and clear statement needs to be made. Announce it over the loud-speaker system before a few games to get it across to the crowds.

[AlexB]

I had an idea this afternoon while I was watching the game. It seems in this tournament (more than I remember in just plain old league games) that players are going down under challenges and it's almost like they are listening to the crowd. If the crowd starts going nuts (the other team is attacking the other way), they roll around until the other team kicks the ball out or the referee stops play. If there is no immediate danger (the other team is not really attacking), they get up and "walk it off". If the referee does stop play, a lot of players are then taking the opportunity to show the referee the injury, complain, etc.

So I had an idea: if a player goes down and stays down, they must leave the field of play and remain off the field for 2 full minutes of playing time (like in hockey as in the ball is actually in play, not chasing after a ball kicked out, etc.). The fourth official would be in charge of keeping the time (what else do they have to do?) and permitting the player to re-enter the field of play. If the manager wants to make a substitution, then that would negate having to wait the full time (an injury like Ribery when you know the player can not continue). If 2 minutes doesn't seem like enough time, make it 4 minutes.

What I would hope this would do is make players really think about staying down after a challenge. Do they really need treatment? Is it worth playing a man down for 2 (or 4) minutes to point out to the referee that you feel you should have been awarded a free kick? Or do you just get up and play on? If they do need treatment, the 2 minutes will do them some good as they will be able to get all the treatment they need off the field (and play can continue). I also feel that any player that rolls over more than two times after being fouled should be automatically yellow carded. It's just a disgrace to see some of these "professionals" acting like children.

It's something I've often thought of as well: the only danger I thought of is that it might encourage a team to try and injure the opposition to gain an advantage...

An idea I think would work quite well with this is a system like rugby league, where the player is treated while play carries on regardless. This would definitely stop players rolling around pretending as there would literally be no point: the game would carry on around them and they would be disadvantaging their own team.

Play would only need to be stopped if the injury was serious: if play were then stopped, the player would either have to be subbed or spend a set period off the field like you suggest.

Again you have the risk of deliberate attempts to injure, so I think to counter that again a system similar to rugby league would work - after the game video evidence should be used to punish players for offences that the referee missed, or the ref can put players 'on report' for incidents where he didn't see exactly whether the play was dangerous. They then have different levels of punishment ranging from a slap on the wrists, fines, and bans from 1-6 weeks.

However, as a big generalisation, the governing bodies don't seem to care about diving, feigning injury and cheating, so the chances of anything actually happening are practically zero.

Just to show a little sense of perspective, although I've only seen maybe 1 in 5 of the games of the Euros, the diving etc has actually seemed a little less to me than in the Champions League for example.

[ISiddiqui]

Ronaldo's fake injury was also terrible. He actually waited like 3 seconds until he started grabbing the "injury".

Watch the replay. A German player stepped on the instep of Ronaldo's foot... and considering he's getting foot surgery (not sure if its on that one or the other though), I can definitely see it being painful.

No fake injury on that one at all.

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah. Ronaldo got stepped on as the guy went over him.

I definately thought the German diving was actually worse: Ballack's as I mentioned, the time Metzelder got brushed by a guy's forearm and started grabbing at his EYE, etc.

[MikeVic]

Is anyone watching this game live? I'm at work... but I'd like updates if something noteworthy happens please. :)

[MikeVic]

Thanks, I'm following that BBC thing too. I hope this miss doesn't cost them.

[SirFozzie]

That was a clothesline worthy of the WWE.

[SirFozzie]

Turkish keeper being tested in stoppage time.

I was just going to say he's looking like he has a case of the yips.. twice he spilled a free kick, just luck that 2nd one didn't go in

[kingfc22]

I smell PK's

[kingfc22]

Wow. What was the keeper thinking.

[miked]

Incredible!!

[kingfc22]

Holy shit! Are you kidding me!!!

[SirFozzie]

Trying to save the Corner.. and just lost his head.

[MIJB#19]

OMG, another miracle escape from Turkey!

[MikeVic]

Come on, don't tell me it's 1-1.

[miked]

I can't believe that ending.

[MIJB#19]

It's 1-1. Last second of overtime.

[SirFozzie]

Holy Fuck!

[MIJB#19]

putting my money on Turkey to win the penalty series.

[kingfc22]

Incredible how this game is ending

[MikeVic]

Fucking bullshit. I am so sad right now.

[MIJB#19]

This could be a wild night out here, there's pretty large Turkish community in Maassluis.

[Critch]

Well that's Germany in the final then.

[Crapshoot]

The Guardian noted this - Turkey has been in the lead for exactly 4 of the 390 minutes they have played in this tournament. That's surreal.

[Crapshoot]

Well that's Germany in the final then.

At this point, is anyone comfortable betting against the Turks? the SOB's keep coming back - tis amazing.

[Ajaxab]

Amazing game. 117 minutes of pretty dull football and then 3 minutes of absolute craziness.

Can someone explain the cards rule for semifinals? Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth were going on today about how much trouble Turkey would be in because of injuries and suspensions from cards. But yesterday, Adrian Healy and Andy Gray were saying that the slate gets wiped clean after the quarters? Who is right?

[SirFozzie]

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/sport/story.asp?j=258986922&p=z589876z8&t=soccer

It also came against the odds as injuries and suspension left Terim with just 15 outfield players and eight of his starting XI on a yellow card.

Victory came at a cost as Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik will be banned for the semi-final after picking up yellow cards. Nihat Kahveci also appeared to pick up a groin strain.

[ISiddiqui]

Turkey is fucking amazing. Team of Destiny.

[ISiddiqui]

Can someone explain the cards rule for semifinals? Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth were going on today about how much trouble Turkey would be in because of injuries and suspensions from cards. But yesterday, Adrian Healy and Andy Gray were saying that the slate gets wiped clean after the quarters? Who is right?

Both. Suspensions carry over to the semis, but those with only one card so far in the tourney get that card wiped away after the QFs. It is to, as explained by the commentators, prevent suspensions during the Final Match.

[cthomer5000]

That was one of the craziest endings I've ever seen. Turkey really does have a tough of magic about them right now. Of course nowthey'll REALLy need some luck withso many guys missing for the semis.

This tournament has been excellent so far. Just excellent.

[Ajaxab]

Both. Suspensions carry over to the semis, but those with only one card so far in the tourney get that card wiped away after the QFs. It is to, as explained by the commentators, prevent suspensions during the Final Match.

Thanks ISiddiqui! That is much clearer than the commentators' explanation yesterday.

Go Oranje!

[B & B]

Ive been burned twice with late minute heroics on my wagers.

Was going to play the draw in todays DUTCH/ROOSKIE game but will play

1st half draw instead. Pays out better than even money and my mathematical numbers have this at 51.7 % chance.

The full game draw line is ~+300 and worth a shot for those interested.

[DaddyTorgo]

no way the russian defense holds the dutch to a full game draw

Russia is too inconsistent for that

[Crapshoot]

Jesus Christ, the Russians can shoot - the guy's taken 3 shots from 35 yards out, and all have been nasty. :D

[DaddyTorgo]

akinfeev just saved you some serious $$ B&B

[B & B]

Jesus Christ, the Russians can shoot - the guy's taken 3 shots from 35 yards out, and all have been nasty. :D


We havent even seen a shot from Roman Pavlyuchenko, who IMO, is the hardest pure striker in the tournament. Keep an eye out in the 2nd half for him to crank one.

DT - If that late shot was taken instead of just blasted he couldnt have saved it. This Russian GK will be in net for the next 2-3 World Cups and looks very solid.

What else can you say about the MAN U guy on the other side of the pitch. One of the best in the world.

Great first half, expect to see some scoring in the second. The Dutch will mark on a set piece at some point. Tempted to play them at plus money but its still regular vig at the half.

[DaddyTorgo]

Akinfeev is VERY solid. He ought to be starting for one of the big sides in Europe (AC Milan?) before too long when one of the old-guard GK's retires.

[Easy Mac]

are we getting some extra soccer again?

[Crapshoot]

WTF? Withdrawing the Yellow Card? THat's BS!

[Crapshoot]

Dola, it wasn't a foul, but that looks awful.

[cthomer5000]

Made the right call for the wrong reasons. Much like the first yellow Kolodin received, that was going to be a horribly bullshit call.

I think he pulled the yellow before realizing who it was, then got his lineman to lie about the ball being out of play in order to bail himself out.

In the end, the right decision. BUt this ref has made soem very suspect calls.

[B & B]

Letting the profits ride


NETHERLANDS TO QUALIFY after regulation time

-160

[Crapshoot]

What a shot....

[Crapshoot]

Made the right call for the wrong reasons. Much like the first yellow Kolodin received, that was going to be a horribly bullshit call.

I think he pulled the yellow before realizing who it was, then got his lineman to lie about the ball being out of play in order to bail himself out.

In the end, the right decision. BUt this ref has made soem very suspect calls.

Aye, I agree in the end.

[DaddyTorgo]

wow - kudos to Russia - I really didn't see that as a possible result!

but the Dutchies just looked...flat.

[MIJB#19]

Congrats to Russia, impressive performance against an emotional demotivated Oranje. Back onto the Hiddink bandwagon we go.

[ColtCrazy]

errrr, why did I back the Dutch? Why do they tease me so? GG by Russia, they just looked so energized. I'm pulling for them against who ever wins the Whiner game tomorrow. German should handle Turkey...I can't imagine they have a lot left in the tank.

[ColtCrazy]

Dola - So how many people are playing FM now looking for cheap Russians to bring to their team? :)

[DaddyTorgo]

lol - if I wasn't in 2026 maybe

idk...i think i'm done betting against Russia or Turkey getting "handled." It seems like they're getting all the bounces and all the luck is on their side.

[ISiddiqui]

RUSSIA!!!!!

Arshavin played the game of the tournament. Just absolutely sensational. I was up out of my seat for all three Russian goals... they deserved this game, since the very beginning. They played beautiful attacking football.

They are my team for the rest of the tourney.

[daedalus]

Akinfeev is VERY solid. He ought to be starting for one of the big sides in Europe (AC Milan?) before too long when one of the old-guard GK's retires.a lot of gooners have been hoping for mr. wenger to spend the necessary 10-15 large necessary to put akinfeev between the posts at the grove because, honestly, putting your hope on almunia is just silly.

we are bound to be disappointed. but we hope, regardless.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'd love to see akinfeev on the big-stage

[ISiddiqui]

I'd like to see Arshavin at Newcastle, but I'm guessing that's just not in the cards :(.

[cthomer5000]

Arshavin is really the breakout player of the tournament. Including his performance in the final rounds of the UEFA cup, he has had an amazing couple of months.

The Dutch were my team for this tournament... now that they're out i'm pulling for Russia.

Pavlyuchenko has also looked very strong. I won't be surprised if a number of these Russians are moving to bigger leagues in time for the fall.

[MrBug708]

:(

[Ajaxab]

That was a disappointing result, but the Russians deserved to win. It seemed they were quicker to the ball throughout. Did anyone else think the Dutch played a bit too narrow? It seemed they had space down the left, but didn't use it. Afellay wasn't the answer. I wonder if Van Basten gets second guessed for not playing Robben.

Who's the next coach of Holland? Rijkaard?

How long before Abramovich shells out the cash for Arshavin?

[kingfc22]

Just watched this match. Very impressive performance by Russia. They dominated the run of play for a good portion of the match and deserved the result.

[MIJB#19]

As good as Arshavin played, you can't call him the discovery of this tournament. He's been the key player of Russian Premier League and UEFA Cup winning club FC Zenit St. Peterburg, so he isn't totally coming out of nowhere.

That was a disappointing result, but the Russians deserved to win. It seemed they were quicker to the ball throughout. Did anyone else think the Dutch played a bit too narrow? It seemed they had space down the left, but didn't use it. Afellay wasn't the answer. I wonder if Van Basten gets second guessed for not playing Robben.Got to back Van Basten here, as Arjen Robben was too severly injured to be able to play yesterday. You do make a good point there, for some reason our team decided to totally ignore the true dutch style and try to go through the middle of the Russian defense, instead of around it on the wings. Afellay and Van Persie can do it, but for some reason decided not to.

All in all, I think the sad happenings during the week (prematurely born daughter of Khalid Boulahrouz died) broke the happy swing from the team. All of a sudden soccer wasn't important anymore. Those players interviewed denied it after the game, saying it's no excuse. Understandable, you don't want to put a loss in a game on stuff like that, but I had a feeling our team wasn't mentally ready. I got goose bums all over when Boulahrouz got subbed out and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Freaky how things went downhill after the Boulahrouz substitution. The 1-0 fell shortly after the sub and was set up at his part of te field. The 2-1 also came from that side of the field. All in all, our defense played their worst game in the Van Basten era. Only Edwin van der Sar managed to keep us from a huge deficit in regular playing time.

That, and Russian played amazingly well.

Who's the next coach of Holland? Rijkaard?Bert van Marwijk. He's been announced a couple of months ago. He heasn't been succesful as a coach lately, but he did guide Feyenoord to UEFA Cup victory half a decade ago. It'll be interesting to see how things will go with a new coach. The return of Mark van Bommel is inevitable (he's Van Marwijk's son-in-law), while god knows whether Roy Makaay and Clarence Seedorf return. I wouldn't even be surprised if Van Bronckhorst (35 during WC2010), Ooijer (turning 36 during WC2010) and maybe Van Nistelrooij (turns 34 during WC2010) call it quits as well. At the very least there's the very likely retirement of Van der Sar (he'll be 39 during WC2010).

It's freaky how the Edwin van der Sar era seems to have ended against Guus Hiddink. Hiddink was the first Oranje coach to put Van der Sar in the starting eleven.

[Icy]

Today is the day, will Spain beat his legend of not passing quarterfinals in a big tourney? I think it all will depend on who scores first, if Italy does, then game over as they are the masters or taking advantage of leads, buckering, loosing time and then counter attacking.

Italy's forward Luca Toni is dangerous for us too, as he is so tall and Spanish central defenders (specially Pujol) are fast and tough but small. Italy will probably take advantage of it on corners, as Greece already scored on us on a tactical play than ended on header.

Spanish players are really hungry for revenge. Nobody in Spain can forget the game in the USA World Cup, when Italian defender Tassotti hit Luis Enrique's nose, breaking it and putting him blood covered, while the referee said nobody touched him (to everybody's perplexity). It should have been a clear penalty awarded and red card.

http://img.notasdefutbol.com/2008/03/luisenrique.jpg

[Ajaxab]

All in all, I think the sad happenings during the week (prematurely born daughter of Khalid Boulahrouz died) broke the happy swing from the team. All of a sudden soccer wasn't important anymore. Those players interviewed denied it after the game, saying it's no excuse. Understandable, you don't want to put a loss in a game on stuff like that, but I had a feeling our team wasn't mentally ready. I got goose bums all over when Boulahrouz got subbed out and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

It's ironic that the Dutch finally had a team that seemed to be united, so united that they rally around one of their own in these difficult circumstances. But it's their unity that is their undoing. I guess I would rather have that than in-fighting though.

[Crapshoot]

Rooting for Spain Icy - this tournament is too good to have the likes of Italy muck it up.

Plus, as a Liverpool fan, I'm duty bound. :D

[samifan24]

I'm rooting for Spain today as well. I'm also hoping for a Germany-Russia final.

[kingfc22]

I despise watching Italy "play" this game

[DaddyTorgo]

the fouls in the box by ambrosino+grosso in the box that haven't been called by fucking fandel are really fucking pissing me off.

As has been pointed out, those would all have been fouls outside the box all day long - the fact they're not being called because they are in the box is really weak

[DaddyTorgo]

spain just keep taking it into the box sooner or later someone will do something fandel can't ignore though

[DaddyTorgo]

oh but of course he calls the foul on sergio ramos and not grosso there

fucking disgraceful

[DaddyTorgo]

i'm watching a bit behind live I think (35mins?) I wanted to watch the end of brazil-argentina first, so I really hope spain get their deservd goal before italy get an undeserved one

[DaddyTorgo]

ooooh nice chances by spain in 38th minute

[Icy]

First half was as expected, Spain dominating (65 to 35% possession) and Italy doing nothing but to break up the plays by fault (with the referee allowing them to do it as always happens with Italy) and to try high balls to the tower Toni to head them over Spanish small defenders.

The referee could have called a couple of fouls just outside the box and one penalty, but of course not any referee is going to call anything against Italy.

Spain really deserves the game so far, let's hope that good soccer will win and not the bunkering and asking for the referee help that is Italy's main strategy.

[DaddyTorgo]

OMG....41st minute...HOW WAS THAT NOT A FUCKING PENALTY FANDEL

[DaddyTorgo]

if villa gets a card for that i'm going to fucking kick him in the face

[Icy]

OMG....41st minute...HOW WAS THAT NOT A FUCKING PENALTY FANDEL

I hear you mate, so fucking incredible, btw i see you are like 10 minutes delayed so i won't spoil anything more.

[DaddyTorgo]

lol it's okay...i'm fastforwarded through halftime up to live action

[DaddyTorgo]

poor by silva there - needed to get a shot off

[Chief Rum]

Not sure that header was going in anyway, but heck of a close shot. I am reminded how much I can't stand the way Italy plays and they should burn in soccer hell. I mean, they bunker AND they flop. They probably kick puppies for motivation at halftime. Go Spain.

[Crapshoot]

Is there a single non-Italian rooting for Italy? They suck the game out of the game - just horrible to watch.

[MJ4H]

I know a Swede that is rooting for Italy. Of course, it is because he has money on it.

[DaddyTorgo]

Not sure that header was going in anyway, but heck of a close shot. I am reminded how much I can't stand the way Italy plays and they should burn in soccer hell. I mean, they bunker AND they flop. They probably kick puppies for motivation at halftime. Go Spain.

lol

[Ryan S]

An interesting note on the BBC website...

Spain have gone out of three major championships on 22 June, the World Cups of 1986 and 2002 and Euro '96 - all in the quarter-finals, all on penalties.

[DaddyTorgo]

time to break that streak

[Chief Rum]

To pens we go. I really wish that last run in by Fabregas had worked out.

[Crapshoot]

I fucking hate the Italians. What an embarrassment to the game - they didn't even pretend to play, and their diving ought to be saved for the Olympics.

[Ryan S]

I feel confident that Germany's name can now be engraved on the trophy.

[DaddyTorgo]

CESC!!!

well that's deserved!

[Crapshoot]

FUCK YEAH!