Re: euro 2012 discussion thread

[dostoevsky]

I'm unconvinced that Del Bosque will give the likes of Soldado and Llorente the time they need. Depth is of course essential to reducing the effect of incidents ruling out key personnel, however issues of balance are the key. A Plan B as described might have obvious positives for the greater diversity it provides in attack, however it equally makes them for vulnerable with the sacrifice of a central midfielder and a higher turnover in possession.

The point concerning the example of Barcelona is still relevant in that the similar cores were coincidental; the historical difficulty of backing up results remains a challenge to Spain. That records are there to be broken is of course an old cliché, however with the likes of Puyol and Villa missing as the competition approaches the signs are already there that the little things aren't going to go there way.

If they hadn't won the last two tournaments they'd be favourites, however something is bound to go wrong. They might end up being the more "deserving" winner, however claiming the actual trophy? Too many variables that have been with them for too long. You can't quantify chance into a stable argument, however it's a legitimate concern.

[Lord Hades]

well , he has to give either of them a run in i guess. the strikerless formation doesnt work as peerlessly as we saw in the friendly against england .. a man up front would work, and either one of them should get the nod ( as long as VDB doesnt choose torres to start lol)

yeah i get your point, both puyol and villa have been two of spain's most important players. plus a very important section of the squad is from barcelona.. but barcelona's reason for failing has primarily been depth , i dont really think spain have that much of a problem in that area

also i may be wrong but i do think ramos ( as cb) and soldado/llorente can at least attempt to fill the mantle left by villa and puyol


and they have the best squad in the tournament by some distance IMO , they might start of the slower but i guess they wil lfigure our the right squad and have just too many winners in the team as compared to the other nts

[Art Morte]

Arghh, why do you keep me waiting like this, Euro'12, why??


Anyway, yeah, I buy the argument that Spain might not see wins come easy, but then again I'm quite sure they won't be easy to beat, either.

[dostoevsky]

Secret Agent Cex as a false 9 could actually work in my opinion, though I doubt it will be employed. Del Bosque's going to take as conservative approach as he can into the Euros and I guess we'll have to see who he does choose.

Barcelona's league failure might have been an issue of depth, however their Champions League failure certainly wasn't. Just like Bayern, they had every opportunity in the world to put away Chelsea, in London and at home. Knock-out football is a far different beast to the league, and depth remains important however it requires a different significance to the league where even fringe members tend to get a significant amount of game time throughout a season. Depth in the league tends to maintain internal competition, guard against fatigue whilst fighting in multiple competitions and provide security against injury. National sides in big tournaments tend to have far more stable and rigid line-ups and whilst each of those factors retains their importance, the brief nature of knock-out tournaments emphasises instead how these players give the coach flexibility with the fewest possible alterations to react to situations, both to attack and negate.

Barcelona and Bayern's issues weren't their restrictions from the bench, though players such as Villa or another decision by Pep to use Pedro instead of Keita would obviously have a tangible effect. They were knocked out because no matter what, the ball wouldn't enter the net.

Barcelona and Bayern both put 7 goals past their opponents in the CL this year and neither side can give a satisfying answer to how those next games got away from them, save for the realisation: c'est la vie. That's the nature of football and major cup tournaments. Things go horribly, inexplicably wrong and it's Spain's turn.

[Lord Hades]

lets see about that ..

the likes of soldado ,llorente have had a productive season it front of goal and assuming that the mantle to finish off the chances will fall on them, i hope that they wont choke

[Zealous]

If Portugal get out of their group they're going to have a huuuuuuuuuuuge chance to go far.

Plus I think they have the right mix of average players who will run all day and players with actual talent. Should be fun.

[Die Borussen]

Poland!!!!!!!! Poland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lewandowski, Blaszczykowski, Piszczek to rule the Euros!


Anyways to be serious I think Germany or Spain to win it. They have the most talented squads and best chance, but anything can happen.

I hope Poland gets to the quarters and that will be like winning.

"opening game"

BRING IT ON !

[Zealous]

BTW zero votes for Croatia is a crime imo.

[VivaStPauli]

TBH I usually rate all the Eastern European countries above the likes of Portugal, Cote d'Ivore (in WC) etc - they just don't tend to have that two moron CBs, or total lack of holding midfield, yes, they tend to lack star players, but they usually have above average players in every single position and tend to be very cohesive.

Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania etc. should never be underestimated. That being said, Chokugal should be decent with CR7 scoring and the rest running their lungs out to defend, but they probably won't be. I see Denmark ahead of them in basically everything.

I can see Germany going out at the groups though, because I expect both Portugal and Denmark to defend with 10 men against us, if we draw or lose one of those, and only draw Netherlands, we're out and the others can draw straws who gets to play with the big boys...

That being said, the more likely scenario is still us beating NL and Portugal and drawing with/losing to Denmark, and going in 1st in group.

[Zealous]

Portugal won't beat Germany. I think they'll beat Holland though.

Germany and Holland will draw I think.

Denmark will pick up at least one win since they have a good team but against who?

[VivaStPauli]

Really? I don't see us drawing NL, I think they're the opponent we're most likely to beat (also most likely to lose to) in that group.

Also our 1.5th XI totally whipped their 1.5th XI in that friendly

Seriously, though, I think Germany and NL will both play for a win. Portugal has sucked against us the last two matches, but I can see both Denmark and them playing for a draw against us, and we do soooo suck at breaking down compact defenses, and we sooooo suck at preventing counters...

[Kingofeverythingclassy]

Its no secret that Sneijder was carrying an injury,Huntelaar had a broken nose,Robben was injured & DID NOT PLAY. RVP was injured & DID NOT PLAY. Same with Afellay & Van Der Vaart.


Germany have THE BEST DEPTH in the world & Oranje have shit depth,so if ts is a matter of both team leaving out 4-5 players or less Germany will easily beat Oranje,that match was played in Hamburg too.

It is too early to call. But obviously Germany have an Advantage especially because they have a much better Defense & Greater Depth in every position. Germany are Favourites for the tournament anyway

[VivaStPauli]

I never count friendly results anyway, TBH, they're good to look at individual players, but they tell you nothing about your teams mentality. Germany traditionally sucked in friendlies, and stepped it up for tournaments. And I was well aware Holland were missing key players, and Germany were playing with a midfield, that will probably not start at the Euros.


But the rest of my post, I'm serious about, I'm really afraid of mid-weight teams like Portugal parking the bus against us and grinding out a draw or even lucky win, Serbia style.

[Zealous]

Really? I don't see us drawing NL, I think they're the opponent we're most likely to beat (also most likely to lose to) in that group.

Also our 1.5th XI totally whipped their 1.5th XI in that friendly

Seriously, though, I think Germany and NL will both play for a win. Portugal has sucked against us the last two matches, but I can see both Denmark and them playing for a draw against us, and we do soooo suck at breaking down compact defenses, and we sooooo suck at preventing counters...

True also I forgot to consider the order of the games. Germany will play Portugal first so no one will want to lose that game. I can see a draw perhaps if Portugal bunker down and Germany give Portugal's counters too much respect.

Then Denmark will play Portugal, in what I expect would be a must win game for them (since I think they will lose against Holland). I think Portugal can beat Denmark in a one off game but Denmark are goo so who knows.

Holland then play Germany in a must win game for the manschaft. So there probably will be a winner, I think it'll be Germany.

Germany then play Denmark but it'll either be a chance for Low to rest players or a must win game, but I think Germany will win this game, leaving the Holland Portugal game as the decider. I think Portugal can beat Holland but we'll see.

Should be a great group either way.

[Kingofeverythingclassy]

I never count friendly results anyway, TBH, they're good to look at individual players, but they tell you nothing about your teams mentality. Germany traditionally sucked in friendlies, and stepped it up for tournaments. And I was well aware Holland were missing key players, and Germany were playing with a midfield, that will probably not start at the Euros.


But the rest of my post, I'm serious about, I'm really afraid of mid-weight teams like Portugal parking the bus against us and grinding out a draw or even lucky win, Serbia style.

In all honesty I feel Portugal have the most chance to beat Oranje as well. I mean Germany are obvious favourites,everyone accepsts victory.

I remember the ugly brawl in 2006 when Boulahrouz beat the shit out of Cristiano & he was crying like a baby. Even then we lost. And before & after that we lost. So Portugal is perhap's Oranje's Bogey team.

And for Germany's sake I hope Low tries Reus at CF because there is question mark over Klose & Gomez would not work. Muller is not an out-right winger,if he is left alone he wont be able to outpace or outdribble like Robbery.

What makes him dangerous is when Ozil & Klose swap positions with him. Gomez will be Static as the target-man thing,Reus & Muller can swap positions.

[Kingofeverythingclassy]

Really? I don't see us drawing NL, I think they're the opponent we're most likely to beat (also most likely to lose to) in that group.

Also our 1.5th XI totally whipped their 1.5th XI in that friendly

Seriously, though, I think Germany and NL will both play for a win. Portugal has sucked against us the last two matches, but I can see both Denmark and them playing for a draw against us, and we do soooo suck at breaking down compact defenses, and we sooooo suck at preventing counters...

True also I forgot to consider the order of the games. Germany will play Portugal first so no one will want to lose that game. I can see a draw perhaps if Portugal bunker down and Germany give Portugal's counters too much respect.

Then Denmark will play Portugal, in what I expect would be a must win game for them (since I think they will lose against Holland). I think Portugal can beat Denmark in a one off game.

Holland then play Germany in a must win game for the manschaft. So there probably will be a winner, I think it'll be Germany.

Germany then beat Denmark leaving the Holland Portugal game as the decider. I think Portugal can beat Hooland but we'll see.

Should be a great group either way.

In the qualifiers Denmark Topped the group & beat Portugal while Portugal had to go past Bosnia in a friendly. Denmark should not be counted out.

Portugal probably will finish 4th in my opinion but who knows they can even makes the semis.

[VivaStPauli]

Klose against teams parking the bus, Gomez against attacking teams for teh counters. IMHO.

Trying Reus is a neat idea, I would've loved to see it tried in a qualifier or friendly before, though.

[Zealous]

Portugal have more industrious players than Holland. Holland are far and away more talented but I can see Portugal just out running them to a win.

[Kingofeverythingclassy]

Portugal have more industrious players than Holland. Holland are far and away more talented but I can see Portugal just out running them to a win.

Ofcourse they can. All four teams are in Top 10. Anyone can beat anyone here.

[Zealous]

Portugal have more industrious players than Holland. Holland are far and away more talented but I can see Portugal just out running them to a win.

Ofcourse they can. All four teams are in Top 10. Anyone can beat anyone here.

I agree, but from what I read Holland and Germany are heavy heavy favourites to qualify.

[S32TABLANCA]

Denmark is a fantastic young team, but they are by no stretch of the imagination Top 10...

[Kingofeverythingclassy]

I was talking about Fifa Ranking & at this point they are better than Portugal as they played a whole round of 10 off qualifiers & won the group while Portugal came 2nd. They beat Portugal 2-1.

[S32TABLANCA]

I was talking about Fifa Ranking & at this point they are better than Portugal as they played a whole round of 10 off qualifiers & won the group while Portugal came 2nd. They beat Portugal 2-1.

Yeah, FIFA rankings arent the most accurate measurments of quality.

[Toffer Harley]

i think germany should go through without too many problems if we win against portugal. after that the players should realize that there is no CL-final cellshock and play even better against the netherlands and maybe a bit riskier as well, knowing a win against denmark can still send them through in case of a loss.

[Lord Awesome]

I think it's gonna be either France, Portugal, or probably Italy.

None of the above teams have championship expectations and typically those are the sort of teams that play with slightly less pressure than the tournamant favorities.

[matpol]

http://espnfc.com/us/en/blogs/Euro2012top40players

ESPN Top 40 players in Euro 2012. So far 40-31:

40. M'Vila
39. Huntelaar
38. Ramos
37. Khedira
36. Ashley Cole
35. Chiellini
34. Xabi Alonso
33. Mata
32. Buffon
31. Götze

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