First off, I know that this is going to be a post of a lot of research and time, when nobody is going to care. But here I go...
For those who do not know what the Euro Cup is let me quickly explain. It is the World Cup of just European countries. It occurs every four years in the even year between the World Cup. The Euro Cup often has great upsets and amazing goals. For instance, in 1992 Denmark won the tournament. Denmark only made it to the tournament because Yugoslavia had to withdraw due to the wars of yugoslav secession. In 2004, Greece who had only appeared in one World Cup beat Portugal 1-0 to become champions. At the beginning of the tournament Greece was given 150-1 odds.
This year the tournament is hosted by Austria and Switzerland with the final being played in Vienna. The official mascots of "Euro 2008" are Trix and Fix. Hmmm, something about them makes me think Sonic.
Here are the teams in the tournament...Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Romania, and The Netherlands.
Like the World Cup, the teams are put in groups A-D. Each team plays the other teams in its groups. From there the top two teams in each group move on to the single elimination. Winner of Group A will play the runner up of Group B and the winner of Group B will play the runner up of Group A. The winner of those two games then plays each. You can figure out the rest. If you can't, you're an in idiot.
Here are the groups.
Group A:
Swizterland
Portugal
Czech Republic
Turkey
Group B:
Austria
Croatia
Poland
Germany
Group C:
Netherlands
Italy
Romania
France
Group D:
Greece
Sweden
Spain
Russia
Here is what I think of each team...
Group A:
Switzerland: This is a team that last tournament said they were going to surprise people. They did not. They will not surprise anyone this time around as well. With many key players being hurt their already sub-par team will only be less effective. Congratulations! You are hosting so you get a bid! Now you can loose in front of more people than normal! Your team sucks. They will not get out of the group stage.
Portugal: With C. Ronaldo leading the team this could be an exciting crew to watch. As one reporter puts it...Ronaldo brings goals, glitz and enough hair gel to torch a quaint Austrian suburb if anyone gets even close to him with a lit match. In all of their past Euro trips they have lost to the eventual winner. In 2004 they lost to Greece in the final. This team has potential to go far but I don't see them making it to the final. I do think that they will win Group A though.
Czech Republic: The Czechs are kind of a dark horse. They are not the dark horse of choice, as that is saved for Croatia, but they could surprise some people. I think that they will be the runner ups in Group A. Why they are under the radar is because they are a team that is rebuilding. They also have one of the best keepers, Petr Cech.
Turkey: I don't know that I really consider Turkey part of Europe but that is a different discussion. Turkey could potentially lose to Switzerland and they won't beat the other two. When to qualify for the tournament you tie Malta and Moldova (seriously, has anyone even heard of that country?) and you lose to Bosnia, you don't deserve much confidence. Now that I think about it, how did they even get in the tournament?
Group B:
Austria: There is legitimate concern about them being in the tournament. Austria is only participating because they are hosting. Some are saying that this won't be a chance to show of the beautiful country but instead a chance to embarrass the country with their terrible play. They will not make it out of group stage. They should consider their Euro 2008 experience a success if they are able to tie Poland.
Croatia: The is the trendy dark horse pick. To qualify they made easy work of Russia, England and Israel. Here is one description of their coach...Slaven Bilic, 39, is either the coolest dad you have ever had, or a man in the throes of such a farcical mid-life crisis it's only a couple of days before he shows up on the bench wearing a pair of crotch-less chaps. If you get a chance to watch them play, keep an eye on Luka Modric as he could score some good goals. I believe that they will end the group stage in second place. Hope I didn't offend you or your country Danny.
Poland: Poland is notorious for making a great run to enter the World Cup and then fall apart when they get there. I think that this will continue unless they can beat Croatia to get second place. Poland has good players but they are not very well distribute. If they could put their best eleven players on the field, three would be keepers.
Germany: God's gift to soccer...Just kidding (kind of). Germany is the favorite for Euro 2008. They have a solid team that has played well together. One of their concerns is their keeper. Jens Lehmann can play well but sometimes falls apart. There are some people who genuinely think that he is crazy. Ballack will probably score some nice goals making this team that should be fun to watch. I think that they will win Group B and could go all the way.
Group C:
Netherlands: Holland has the bad luck of being in the group of death with France and Italy. They do however have the good luck of not having much expected of them. Their defense is not good enough to get them out the group stage however. This is not a bad team, just not a good enough team. I do think that they will beat Romania though.
Italy: Even though they have the oldest team in the tourney, average age of 29.57, they could be a pick to win it all if they weren't in the group of death. The only teams with shorter odds of winning it all is Germany and Spain. Italy could suffer a bit as Totti as retired from international play, but overall this is a good team. I think that they will win Group C. I think that Italy will lose in the semi-finals however.
Romania: This is a team that could give Italy and France some trouble or a scare, but I don't see it happening. Netherlands v. Romania will be a good match however as Romania has won the last two times. Netherlands will not under estimate them again. Romania will finish in the bottom however when they lose to Netherlands. Interesting fact, forward Adrian Mutu used to drink the blood of porn stars and do lines of coke to increase his sexual performance. Something to think about kids.
France: France is a young team who may have 10 starters who have never played in an international tournament. This does not mean that they will be sucky, however. France produces some of the best talents so these young guys could do a thing or two. They at least have to have some talent if Henry might not even start. I do think that they will get second place in the group stage but then lose the next game. Side note, I hope Thierrey Henry comes to the Sounders.
Group D:
Greece: While Greece surprised everyone and won it all in 2006, I don't see that happening again. I do not think that they will get so lucky. This Greek team lost to Turkey 4-1 a little while ago. On the other hand, Sweden has not beaten Greece since they won 9-0 in the 1920 Olympics. I think that Sweden will break that streak and Greece will finish at the bottom.
Sweden: This is a team that will be the runner up in the group stage. While I do think that they will beat Greece and tie Russia I don't think they will do much. Something to look for, Kim Kallstrom (nicknamed Kongo-Kim) has a hard shot. In 2006 when training for the World Cup his shot knocked out a team-mate.
Spain: This is one of the hip choices to win it all. They have great talent and one of the best keepers in the world. Unfortunately Spain is notorious for having all the potential to only fall on its face. I think that this will be the year however that they will not do that and go to the finals. I'm looking to see Germany and Spain in the final. One criticism of Spain is that there are too many cook. If they can work together and overcome their average defense, they will be a force. They are going to win Group D.
Russia: The Russian team is in a interesting position because they are just starting to play to their potential, after years of playing poorly and not have any confidence things are turning around. With their new coach players are encouraged to swear in practice and make fun of each others clubs. Will their new confidence be able to carry them? Their star forward will have to sit out of the first two matches after being sent out in their qualifier. If they are still in it when he returns they might have a chance to do something. I think however that they will maybe tie Sweden but that is it.
Here is what I think will happen after the group stage.
Quarter Finals:
Portugal v. Croatia=Portugal
Germany v. Czech Republic=Germany
Italy v. Sweden=Italy
Spain v. France=Spain
Semi Finals
Portugal v. Germany=Germany
Italy v. Spain=Spain
Final
Germany v. Spain= Germany
A little side thing...these games are officiated by referees who have professions outside of soccer. Here is what some of officials do when not on the pitch: piano teacher, sergeant in the South Yorkshire Police force and travel agent.
There, now you know. I was going to go back and add links and stuff but after doing this for like 3 hours I'm done.
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