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Hi folks,
I just wondered why there's no thread on the European Football (or make it soccer) Championship yet. Of course, it might be that there is just not enough interest there, but I think there are quite a lot of Europeans on the LL and also quite a lot of people who like soccer who may not be from Europe. That is, if I remember the thread about the World Champinship correctly.
Anyway, if any of you would like to gossip about the tournament, stay a while and listen - and post! I have some observations that I would like to discuss with other people interested in football...
As for me: I'm not a football fanatic, though I like it when Germany wins a game... or England, for that matter, and I also think that Greece is doing a very good job so far. Don't want to bash nations or teams here, I'm just interested in hearing your opinions of what is giong on in the tournament.
So, I hope some people will join in! If not, just let this thread die of being ignored, and sorry for wasting valuable space on the first page of the Lounge.
Take care,
Lord_Olf
"I don't like to brag, I don't like to boast, but I like hot butter on my breakfast toast!" - Flea
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I prefer playing the game itself, instead of watching it. It's much more fun when it's you out there mangling and severing limbs!
I did get a good chuckle though, when France went from 0 -1 to 2-1 on overtime against England :lol:
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Hi,
Of course I also like it if Germany wins a game (lets put it like this). Heck, I'm satisfied even when they play good football (and lose or make a draw nevertheless). I also think England should have its turn and win. Please, not another championship for France! Not that they don't play good, but I think this hausse has been lasting long enough. And yes, Greece (trained by the German veteran Otto Rehagel) was a nice surprise. Certainly taught Portugal not to get cocky... ;) Did you know hat some of their fans actually stood up after the game and sang 'Otto, wir danken Dir!' (read: 'Otto, we thank you!') in German!
Now that was fantastic.
I can however understand that the championship isn't much looked at here. I admit that I, too, wouldn't give a (you know what) about the championship of North America or South America neither. Perhaps about the Africa's Cup, these boys play some nice, eye-candy football!
Greetings, Fragbait
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Post content property of Fragbait (member of the lurkerlounge). Do not (hesitate to) quote without permission.
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I'm cheering for England... even though I'm American, but one of my good friends is English, so I will cheer for them.
... I hope France doesn't win... Zidane has quite a foot though. :ph34r:
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now that's starnge, see, because I'm cheering for whoever is playing againsy England.
My home country, Wales, got knocked out in the qualifying (by Russia, who were later found to have had a player who was on a banned substance in his body during the match). So, if I can't cheer for my country, I hope that the old enemy, i.e. England, get beat. I believe that there are some pubs around who are offereing free beverages if England lose - nice, neighbourly spirit.
In short, Wales were cheated out of their place, so I'll be content as long as England & Russia don't win it (actually, Russia are already out).
C'Mon Croatia!
-Bob
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AA, if it is about football, I have one or two opinions to share with you. First, I wonder why I'm still such a soccer fan. I will have a seasonticket again coming year, but I realize and hate the fact that is has become more a world of money than of sports. You can see this also at these european championships.
9 out of 10 matches is so boring that you think "I should have spend these two hours better than just watching soccer on television". Then the fact that most of the players save their best skills and tricks for the half time commercials :) Good that was the frustration part...now the football fan part.
First it seems that France is the new Germany....winning in the end of the match with a lot of luck, so let's hope they will not win this year. But to point a winner is difficult because the level seems awfully low this year. I hope Holland wins, but for the first time I did not put them as champions in my predictions because they are just not good enough. Germany will always get far but just as holland they just don't have the quality to become champion this year (the players are even worse than the dutch, only as a team I see them slightly better).The winner of portugal against spain can have a big chance of becomeing champion I think.Let's wait for the second match of Italy (tonight) to see if they can do something (or maybe sweden).
So for now that is it, when the tournament is a bit older we will see who are the real favourites.
(good thread lord olf)
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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 don't like to brag, I don't like to boast, but I like hot butter on my breakfast toast!" - Flea
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Hail Bob,
I sure can understand your feelings. But I think this may have caught up with Russia with the red card for their goalie (which was not appropriate, in my opinion). Well, not really something that will make havig to stay at home easier for you people from Wales, but... Was there any action taken after this case of substance abuse was discovered, or just the player disqualified for some time? I'm just asking because I'm starting to get a little interested with what can be done after some action was discovered or proven wrong after the game, when nothing could be done anymore (that red card for Russia, which is debatable but pretty undeserved in my opinion, and also Tooti's "lama" performance).
I'm just glad that the rivalry between Holland and Germany is not taken to such heights as years ago...
One other thing, not asking you directly Bob:
When the Russian goalie got the red card, there was quite some tumult in the coaching area. It seemed that a fan or fans somehow got there and wanted to start making trouble. The camera remained fixed on the trainer (can't rercall which one), and it was not really possible to see what was going on, except that the area was crawling with policemen at once. Does anyone have more information about this? I haven't seen anything on TV, but maybe one of you knows...
Take care,
Lord_Olf
"I don't like to brag, I don't like to boast, but I like hot butter on my breakfast toast!" - Flea
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Lord_Olf,Jun 18 2004, 09:16 AM Wrote: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, Don't forget Tsartas, he played in Seville in Spain, and he's probably one of the better players of the team (albeit he's getting close to the end of his career).
As for the Euro, well, I'm from Spain. What can I say, we're always there but we never achieve anything. Heh.
Actually one thing, Spain plays a 4-2-3-1, not a 4-5-1. The difference is that the extra attacker is not sacrificed for an extra defensive midfield, but rather for a man in between the midfield and the attack. This role is usually covered by Raul when Morientes is the main attacker, or by Valerón when he's playing.
The net result, however, is still the same, not enough people on the offensive.
This weekend, however, my mom is flying in for a visit, so I think I have something more entertaining to do than watching football ^_^
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The reason the 'good' teams have so much trouble against the 'weak' teams simply is that the good teams are not as good as the media hypes make them :P
I also think that teams like Holland and Portugal play what I like to call 'Schoenwetterfussball' ;) They don't 'work' enough. They get huge problems against teams that play with a good defense and alot of tactical discipline.
I think Holland will not survive the quarter final. They played really weak against Germany. They might even lose against the Czech Republic and drive home before the quarter finals.
It seems that France will reach the quarter final without developing a single really good situation 'out of the flow of the game'. They had so much luck so far. Croatia should have won yesterday, as should England. What I don't understand is why their opponents give so much space to Zidane. Against France, you should let one player cover Zidane very closely. That can disrupt the French game completely. I guess such defense is considered anachronistic, but I bet it would do wonders.
Who will win ? I think Germany can make it, if they strengthen their offense a little bit. Spain could do it, too, and England. France, Portugal or Holland don't have a huge chance, IMO.
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Hi,
Quote:It seems that France will reach the quarter final without developing a single really good situation 'out of the flow of the game'.
What I dislike most regarding the French team is their arrogant attitude (Zidane probably being an exception) - before yesterday's game vs Croatia, they announced they would play with their B team in the last game, because a loss vs. Croatia would be out of question and their participation in the quarter finals practically guaranteed. Serves them right they only managed a draw yesterday, that should teach them some modesty.
Quote:Who will win ? I think Germany can make it, if they strengthen their offense a little bit.
:lol: As much as I would love 'us' to become European champions, I really doubt it. Hey, we're celebrating a meager draw vs. a weak Dutch team at the moment like it had been a victory... :ph34r: But maybe we get lucky again, like during worlds two years ago, and only draw duds as opponents until the finals... :D
-Kylearan
There are two kinds of fools. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, "This is new, and therefore better." - John Brunner, The Shockwave Rider
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I'm cheering on England
I think it's been a cracking tournament so far - the Czech v Holland game was fabulous
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Hail,
Czech vs Holland was definitely the best game yet - too bad I decided not to catch the rest of the game when Holland scored the second goal :-(
Also, I'm sitting in my cubbyhole and grinning: Czechoslovakia is qualified, while Holland has one point, Germany 2. Should make next Wednesday quite interesting...
Take care,
Lord_Olf
"I don't like to brag, I don't like to boast, but I like hot butter on my breakfast toast!" - Flea
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Yes for sure it was a nice match....but don't you just hate that referee? He for sure was the worst "player" on the field. For Holland everyting that could go wrong went wrong. With that clear penalty (foul on van Nistelrooy, we would have a nice 3-1). And the red card for Heitenga was a complete disgrace. Well that's football. The only problem is now that the czechs are of course not going to give the germans too much trouble. They will keep most of their good players out, to prepare for the QF's. Well, beforehand I (for the first time in the past 5 tournaments) I did not give us a chance to win.....so it was more or less expected.
And with Spain out, most likely Italy out, that leaves us with.....the Czechs, Germany, France, Portugal, Sweden...... I'm not going to do any more predictions.
enjoy..
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06-21-2004, 05:13 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-21-2004, 05:16 AM by Kylearan.)
Hi,
Quote:The only problem is now that the czechs are of course not going to give the germans too much trouble. They will keep most of their good players out, to prepare for the QF's.
It's completely irrelevant whether they will play with their best players, their reserve team, or with one-legged, blind grannies who don't know what offside is. We (Germany) will perfectly match the strength of our opponent and will have trouble winning in any case. Remember our game vs. the Dutch? We played good, and deserved the 1:1. Remember our game vs Latvia? We played bad, and deserved the 0:0. So the Czechs played a fantastic game vs. the Dutch? Well, we will adapt and either play like a vice world champion, or if they choose to save their strength for the quarterfinals, play like one-legged, blind...
-Kylearan
There are two kinds of fools. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, "This is new, and therefore better." - John Brunner, The Shockwave Rider
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^_^
Spain has made their usual show of uselessness, a bit early this year.
God I love being a Spaniard. It's hard to be disappointed when this is what we're used to :lol:
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Well... I paid the $20 today for Italy v. Bulgaria (in the US, only on pay-per-view). Italy really needed to come out harder in the beginning, and they didn't start playing hard enough until the last 30 minutes.
I think I heard though, still the first team ever with 5 points to not qualify for the next round.
Denmark - 5
Sweden - 5
Italy - 5
Bulgaria - 0
and the 2-2 tie from Sweden Denmark, which was apparently the magic score to eliminate Italy, happened, and I guess the Italian conspiracy theorists will come out.
When Italy scored in stoppage time... Euphoria to horror, from thinking they are through to finding out the Denmark / Sweden game ended in a tie, and they are out.
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Hi,
Quote: Well... I paid the $20 today for Italy v. Bulgaria (in the US, only on pay-per-view).
Er...just to get this right: You have to pay 20$ to view a EU championship soccer game on TV in the US?!? That's ridiculous!
Regarding the game Italy - Bulgaria: Instead of spinning silly conspiracy theories, the Italians just should have acted less arrogant and played better in the previous games... although the 2-2 tie between Sweden and Denmark was indeed a strange coincidence. :)
Now let's hope Germany will play better today!
-Kylearan
There are two kinds of fools. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, "This is new, and therefore better." - John Brunner, The Shockwave Rider
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Hail Kylearan,
I'm with you; charging 20 bucks for one game is highway robbery, expecially when you can probably put up a satellite dish and watch it for free (granted, maybe with a foreign language commentary, but you can always turn down the sound).
The other thing: I'm pretty sure that the conspiracy theorists are warming up their brains right now. But having seen the game, I daresay that, even if the outcome was the mysterious 2:2, it sure did not look like Denmark and Sweden had made some kind of deal. It was a good game to watch, and didn't "smell".
Also, I'm with you in hoping that Germany can make the finals round today. Hey, all they have to do is win *grins*...
Take care,
Lord_Olf
PS: I'm also feeling sorry for that English fan who got stabbed, but I'm sort of "glad" that it was "only" a robbery and not some kind of street violence between hooligans. Good thing that the Championship seems to proceed without too much interference from the violonce crowd...
"I don't like to brag, I don't like to boast, but I like hot butter on my breakfast toast!" - Flea
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06-23-2004, 09:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-23-2004, 10:30 AM by eppie.)
I think the Sweden Denmark match was rigged (is that the right word). Of course soccer comentators will not say it, of course the UEFA will not say it, but we all know it happens all the time. Also in normal competition with promotion or relagation matches (even when one team does not even have advantage from it). If you saw the way the danish keeper dropped the ball in the 89th minut. This match was a fake I am sure.
The Italians would have done the same though if they were in that situation. But hearing offcials say that the president of the Italian soccer association should take back his words and all......
Same as the referee question. Of course teh offisde rule will not be changed, of course referees will not be able to watch screen after "strange moments" in the game. This way the Uefa cannot influence the matches anymore ;) (but I mean this partly)
Soccer is rotten, but I keep watching it (why???.....Why??...)
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