06-18-2004, 08:25 AM
Hail eppie,
I pretty much agree with you on the things you said: A lot of the games are boring, especially if you're not a fan of one of the teams. There is not that much going on, and quite a lot of games ended 1:0, which does not make it very interesting to watch. No tricks, no brilliant plays, they're rather "working" football than "playing" it.
On the other hand, I rather like watching Greece, pretty much for the same reason. Their team has no real stars, except maybe for Angelos Charisteas (striker), who is known a little bit better here in Germany, since he plays for Werder Bremen. But still, they have given some teams pause that should have swept them away, at least on paper. But they have put in a great effort as a team, and they know about playing a game that suits them; a very defensive game, that is, but they also have the ability to come back after a goal against them. I guess I like them for the team spirit that seems pretty evident with them, everyone playing for everyone else. Well, YMMV...
As for the second paragraph:
I agree that the teams are pretty well matched this year. There are no real "star" teams anymore. Spain is having a rather difficult time against teams they should have no problems against, Italy's first game was no revelation, and Portugal... well, not being able to make sure they win by scoring a second goal against ten Russian players.
My thesis why this might be the case: A lot of the "big" teams have adopted a 4-5-1 system and sacrifice a striker for a defensive midfielder. Spain and Portugal play this system, as well as Holland, IIRC, Germany did so in the first game (though I think that will change), and a lot of the smaller teams do so, too.
So, you have a stable defense, but not much is going on in the opposite's 16-m-room, and the teams equalize each other in the midfield. While this makes sense when playing against a "good" team (as Germany decided to do against Holland), it does not make sense to me when playing against someone who is not that strong and you wish to "scare" them with an early goal. England had two strikers yesterday when playing Switzerland, and lo and behold!, 3 goals scored and a nice game to watch (if you aren't Swiss of have a lot of sympathy for that team). On the other hand, Portugal had those problems against the aforementioned 10 Russians, and in my opinion, at least part of the problem is that single striker. What do you think? What is the reason that all the "good" teams have such problems? It does not seem that the "smaller" teams are lightyears from what they were able to do 4 years ago, so what is the reason?
So, I guess I'll sacrifice today's games for a barbecue (limbs on the grill, not on the green field, which is what I like even better than soccer, wcip_Angel *grin*), and catch both Holland and Germany tomorrow. I'll be back to you on sunday, maybe with more hare-brained thesises.
Take care, and have fun watching or playing real football!
Lord_Olf
I pretty much agree with you on the things you said: A lot of the games are boring, especially if you're not a fan of one of the teams. There is not that much going on, and quite a lot of games ended 1:0, which does not make it very interesting to watch. No tricks, no brilliant plays, they're rather "working" football than "playing" it.
On the other hand, I rather like watching Greece, pretty much for the same reason. Their team has no real stars, except maybe for Angelos Charisteas (striker), who is known a little bit better here in Germany, since he plays for Werder Bremen. But still, they have given some teams pause that should have swept them away, at least on paper. But they have put in a great effort as a team, and they know about playing a game that suits them; a very defensive game, that is, but they also have the ability to come back after a goal against them. I guess I like them for the team spirit that seems pretty evident with them, everyone playing for everyone else. Well, YMMV...
As for the second paragraph:
I agree that the teams are pretty well matched this year. There are no real "star" teams anymore. Spain is having a rather difficult time against teams they should have no problems against, Italy's first game was no revelation, and Portugal... well, not being able to make sure they win by scoring a second goal against ten Russian players.
My thesis why this might be the case: A lot of the "big" teams have adopted a 4-5-1 system and sacrifice a striker for a defensive midfielder. Spain and Portugal play this system, as well as Holland, IIRC, Germany did so in the first game (though I think that will change), and a lot of the smaller teams do so, too.
So, you have a stable defense, but not much is going on in the opposite's 16-m-room, and the teams equalize each other in the midfield. While this makes sense when playing against a "good" team (as Germany decided to do against Holland), it does not make sense to me when playing against someone who is not that strong and you wish to "scare" them with an early goal. England had two strikers yesterday when playing Switzerland, and lo and behold!, 3 goals scored and a nice game to watch (if you aren't Swiss of have a lot of sympathy for that team). On the other hand, Portugal had those problems against the aforementioned 10 Russians, and in my opinion, at least part of the problem is that single striker. What do you think? What is the reason that all the "good" teams have such problems? It does not seem that the "smaller" teams are lightyears from what they were able to do 4 years ago, so what is the reason?
So, I guess I'll sacrifice today's games for a barbecue (limbs on the grill, not on the green field, which is what I like even better than soccer, wcip_Angel *grin*), and catch both Holland and Germany tomorrow. I'll be back to you on sunday, maybe with more hare-brained thesises.
Take care, and have fun watching or playing real football!
Lord_Olf
"I don't like to brag, I don't like to boast, but I like hot butter on my breakfast toast!" - Flea