EuroCup 2008 AKA: YAY FOOTBALL!

well yeah, we have the football (yeah the REAL football, the sport played with the feet and a ball, not the sport that should be named tackleball or something, but were not here to discuss names) eurocup this year, which will be hosted at switzerland and austria

eurocup takes place every 4 years since 1960 in which UEFA countries compete against each other in football (from now on youre suppossed to know that football here means soccer) games

2004 eurocup was in portugal, and most people got surprised to see greece won


team groups:
http://spanish.euroteam2008.com/teams.htm

match schedule :
http://spanish.euroteam2008.com/schedule.htm

who do you think will win, who do you want to win? discuss anything?


i want portugal to win mainly because of cristiano ronaldo.... but i think italy will win because they did really good at the world cup

Well, I'd like to see Germany win. Germany really needs to win one of these, I think. That's who I'll be rooting for, although I'm not really that big of a fan.

EDIT: Wow, I was looking at some of the ticket prices for those games, and they are super high. Like, 1000 USD for a semifinal match? 3000 USD for the finals? That's crazy. You Europeans really do love your football.

I'd like France to win, seeing as how they were cheated out of a World Cup victory last year. But I would welcome a German win as well.

Jammer said:

Well, I'd like to see Germany win. Germany really needs to win one of these, I think. That's who I'll be rooting for, although I'm not really that big of a fan.

EDIT: Wow, I was looking at some of the ticket prices for those games, and they are super high. Like, 1000 USD for a semifinal match? 3000 USD for the finals? That's crazy. You Europeans really do love your football.

Click to expand...

yeah im f-ing shocked too... the most expensive tickets are the finals vip which are 4900 eur... while the cheapest... yeah the cheapest in worst seats with the worst game is 250 eur... thats shocking

germany has good chances to win btw, and france would have had a year or 2 ago with its world cup team

Tackleball? wtf

edde said:

but i think italy will win because they did really good at the world cup

Click to expand...

Nope, at the world cup they had luck.

My opinion won't be based on a player or personal feelings. So, I'll admit that Spain has a strong team; France has a though team too, so it's tide between them.

**** France. Go England.

jaej said:

**** France. Go England.

Click to expand...

ummm england didnt qualify for the cup... yeah im in shock too, they have such a great team nowdays

italy had some luck and so, but they did deserve to win because cannavaro played really really good, i mean, he is in real madrid (my fav team) and he has rarely played as good as he did in the world cup--- and on the other side... buffon, that is what i call a real goalkeeper, he was just amazing, its one of the very very few goalkeepers that do not guess penalty shots and this one even catches most penalties (not most... just more than the average great goalkeeper)

yeah, spain has a really good team nowdays and has my favorite defense player (sergio ramos), and also a strong team overal with casillas, raul and so - france has a good team, but the team 2 years ago kicks the current team easily

I've kept up wih this slightly and I mean very slightly, Germany would be a nice choice to take the win.

Bailey said:

Tackleball? wtf

Click to expand...

I believe he was referring to Football, as in the NFL.

Nobody even mentions the Netherlands anymore . I can't blame you guys, our situation is THAT bad. I mean, we've got amazing players in our team, only they can't function as a team yet. And another problem is that our team only will go 100% when it depends on something, and if you haven't done that before, you'll get into trouble.

I mean, we have the potential, it just needs to come out. Also, our coach, Marco van Basten, was an awesome player, but I don't think he's fitted for being a coach. Although he is the most "succesfull" coach of the national team since 1940, I still think he could do a lot better.

I really can't wait untill it starts. This time the Netherlands is really in the Poule of Deathness, being in there with France, Italy and Romania.

With none of my home nations I'll be supporting Holland. Hup, Holland! The the view of the team in the netherlands Riciardos? You guys always look pretty strong from over here. You've got some of my favourite players too, Heitinga, Van Der Vaart, Sneijder, Babel to name a few. Cheer up though, at least you guys made the tournament! If France play like they did at the World Cup they won't make it out of that group. Mon the Oranje!

I'll also be supporting those dirty Germans depending on Holland's success in the group of death and whether or not the Germans continue to play good football. In truth I just feel sorry for Mickey B after the Champions League final. He truly is the running man.

If any of you are betting men, I'd suggest money on Russia. They are the dark horses here, youngest squad (Italy have the oldest), Hiddink managing and a good set of players. I fully expect Arshavin to set the tournament alight. If I had to guess the final now, I'd go with Germany vs Russia.

Goldshadow said:

I'd like France to win, seeing as how they were cheated out of a World Cup victory last year.

Click to expand...

Explain?
France didn't deserve to be in that final. Having watched every game in that Tournament the French had one good match, the Brazil one. Not that I think Italy should of been there either (Shouldn't have gotten a pen against the Oz), but they were far more convincing than France that's for sure. Apparently Toni is expected to win the Golden Boot after his season with Bayern, but I'm still angry at him for Germany 06 (he was in my fantasy team).

Spain have a decent team, quite a few players I like (Ramos, Casillas, Torres, Fabregas) and some I don't (Puyol, Senna), but the truth remains that they are worse big game bottlers than England. Like every year they look strong, perhaps stronger this time with Fabregas doing really well for Arsenal at the beginning of the season and Torres scoring loads at the 'Pool, but I still expect them to drop out at the nearest sign of a tough match. Probably still gutted from 2002.

Portugal will probably rely to heavily on Ronaldo and Carvalho. And while Ronaldo is amazing to watch, it doesn't hide the fact that the Portugal team are a bunch of scummy cheating ****s. Can't wait to see them go out.

Czech Republic, Croatia and Sweden are all decent but I don't see them going far. Wouldn't mind seeing Croatia go some of the distance, usually play some very nice stuff.

Here's the official site http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/ language options up top.

I have the misfortune of living in Vienna, Austria during this time.
I already have enough of a hard time getting out of my house with a waterpark two blocks from here. -_-

I was gutted for Northern Ireland and Scotland not qualifying, they gave really good showings in the group stages against better teams. Ourselves and England just weren't good enough I'm afraid.(I was relieved we didn't qualify to be honest, we'd have only embarassed ourselves..)
I don't really mind who wins it but I'd love to see a Netherlands-Czech Republic final, I remember a match between the two in Euro 2004 and it was the most thrilling match I've ever seen.(Anyone remember that one?)
Go Netherlands.

Eriatarka said:

I don't really mind who wins it but I'd love to see a Netherlands-Czech Republic final, I remember a match between the two in Euro 2004 and it was the most thrilling match I've ever seen.(Anyone remember that one?)

Click to expand...

That was an amazing match! One of the best I've seen.

I LOVE MY COUNTRY!!!! I'm really proud on how we beat the living crap out of the World Champion Italy. Sure, the first goal is a little iffy, but was completely legal and the second goal, OMG, I really **** my pants out of happiness and came on the same time because of the beauty of it.

Not one player in our team sucked or made any huge mistakes, they all WORKED their *** off, and that payed off. Best start of the tournament ever! First time in history Italy had so many goals against them.

I take all my words back on our national team, this time they've shown they are really able to win. Can't be more proud.

Although, there is still one player I don't like to see and that's Mathijsen. He's our center back and luckily there weren't any big moments depending on him, because he'd screw up. We've got a much better person suited for that spot and that is either Heitinga or Bouma.

And props to van de Sar again! What an amazing keeper. It's partly because of him we won this game. Because he kept his goal clean, the Italians lost confidence and lust for battle by the minute. Omg, it's been over an our since we've won and I'm still in this incredible rush. I feel like we've won the whole tournament already xD.We are really already with 1 foot in the second round because France and Romania tied. We cannot be in a better position.

Watch out rest of Europe, Holland is BACK!

Edit: Now that I'm out of my rush, I see that my post is a little over the edge . I mean, we couldn't have played any better, but it was only one match, we still need to play against France and Romania. However, playing a tie against France will almost make a sure entry for the second round. And if we play against France like we did against Italy, I'm sure we are gonna win again. We just need to keep up this level of play.

Hup Holland Hup!

Terrific performance. Was delighted to see one of my favourite players, admittedly the Dutch team is full of 'em, have such a great Performance. Ex-Rangers man, Gio, what a hero. Was leaping about the living room after the second goal and even the third. I'm not even Dutch.

Come off it though Riciardos, you know Ruud's goal wasn't legal haha Glad it was given though.

Got to ask though, who's better in your eyes, Boulahrouz or Mathijsen? Haven't seen any of Mathijsen but Boulahrouz isn't exactly a star performer in the premiership.

I got completely merked in fantasy football though. Heitinga wasn't starting so I quickly wildcarded him before kick-off for Materazzi. Oh dear.

France were classic earlier. Exactly what I was expecting. Arrogant and no urgency.

Looking forward to Group D tomorrow. Hoping to see the Spanish players I like perform. I tipped Russia earlier but I'm starting to have a couple doubts.

I didnt get to watch the game, but the loss by Italy shocked me. What was the game like? I mean sure cannavarro was gone but nesta was there. And they have solid offense, so what happened? Did they just not play well, or was Holland just plain kick ***. Try to give a somewhat unbiased view people XD

Nice to see a Euro thread, created one without even seeing this.

Van Nistelrooy was a mile offside. But apart from that the Dutch performance was incredible. The two counter attacks that culminated in the second and third goal were incredible, especially the second goal. Van Bronckhorst was a monster, Sneijder's volley was excellent as was his and Kuyt's defensive cover. Glad to see Kuyt do well since I support Liverpool. Was a fantastic game, Van der Sar's save was amazing. Best game of the tournament so far. And all this without Robben, who would have definitely started if fit, or Babel!

France vs Romania. Worst game of the tournament so far. France were so lacklustre. No drive, no real threat. Really poor. They were lacking a player with the guile of Zidane or the drive of Henry and it showed. Benzema didn't live up to the hype and Ribery and Malouda had a poor game, lacking the wide creativity the French needed. I don't envisage France getting through the group stages without a great improvement. Henry needs to get fit for them quick.

As for the other games Germany impressed me and outclassed Poland. Klose, Gomes and Podolski all looked threatening and Ballack and Frings looked as solid as ever. Question marks over Lehmann even though I love him for his eccentricness. He always seems to perform on the big occassion though. Portugal showed some of their class against Turkey. Bosingwa and Deco impressed, I expect Portugal to do well.

Looking forward to see Spain tomorrow, my pre tournament favourites. I hope Torres plays well, since he had a fantastic season for us this year. Surprised to hear that Fabregas isn't starting.

Edit: @ Druggedfox. Italy didn't play terribly. The game swung with the first goal. Van Nistelrooy was a mile offside when he coverted Sneijder's shot towards goal. I still can't believe the goal was given. After that the Italians pressed, but the Dutch played well, with the wide men Sneijder and Kuyt providing cover on the flanks and preventing the full backs Zambrotta and Panuci pressing forward. Holland played controlled, passing football and when the Italians attacked and nearly scored from a corner they burst into counter attack with Van Bronckhost making a goal line clearance from the Italian corner before runnng up the pitch and crossing the ball to Dirk Kuyt who headed the ball down to Sneijder who volleyed it past Buffon at the near post. It was brilliant counter attacking football and the Dutch executed it perfectly all night. After the break the Italians pressed further but couldnt find the killer pass in the final third, as was the case in the first half, and the Dutch held out despite the Italians throwing on Del Piero and Cassano. Then to wrap things up Van Bronckhost completed another beautiful counter attack after Van der Sar made a brilliant save from a Pirlo free kick, scoring a third for Holland by meeting a Kuyt cross in the penalty area with a header.

You should watch the highlights when you can on youtube, the second and third goals were brilliant counter attacking football.

Guys, that first goal was legal, but iffy. You see, on of the Italian backs went over the back line so that means he was still in the game and that's why van Nistelrooy wasn't offside. Actually, the keeper crashed into the back, so the back was hurt lying next to the goal.

But anyway, it was legal.

EDIT: Now I know why, when your a back, you can't pull yourself out of the field(don't know how to call it) so when Panucci laid their he was still in the game. It's a new rule used for the first time this tournament.

Looked at the rule earlier, apparently if a player goes off on purpose to play someone offside you give onside. Panucci got clattered and was on the floor, it's up in the air, but I wouldn't have given it.

Apprently two FIFA refs have looked at it and said it should stand. No complaints!

EDIT: And Nesta isn't in the Italy squad! Their defence last night was Materazzi, Zambrotta, Barzagli and Panucci. Grosso came on and Chiellini and Gamberini were on the bench.

The officials just came up with that rule to dig themselves out of a hole. Amazing how the rule just popped out of nowhere, never heard of it before.

If a player is off the pitch, he's off the pitch. He shouldn't matter. It was a poor decision.

Holland were still the better side lol.

Predictions for tonight's games guys?

I'm predicting Spain 3 - 1 Russia and Greece 0 - 1 Sweden

The rule has always been there. I just find it harsh that Panucci was down injured, and if he wasn't would otherwise of been further up the pitch. They're right though, Panucci was in play.

My predictions were nearly spot on.

Villa and Torres will absolutely destroy the tournament. Don't know why Aragones subbed Torres. Wanted to see him on the scoresheet.

Awesome goal by Ibrahimovic btw. Unstoppable for the keeper.

Also, I must say that I think it's a pretty exciting start of the tournament, it's certainly not a dull or anything. I hope more of this lies befor us in the future.

wtf? Nesta didn't play? What's up with that? Am i that far behind on what's happening...

Can't wait for the Netherlands - France tonight! Any predictions? Mine is 2 - 1 for the Netherlands and 1-0 for Italy against Romania. I just hope we play as good as we did against Italy. Also, my karate teacher is over there right now because that ******* is getting a VIP pass for the game tonight. Sigh, I wish I had a friend who was chief at JVC.

Also, what do you guys think of the penalty that was given yesterday against Polen in the 92nd minute or so? I think it was a bit unnecessary. Sure he pulled him down a bit, but the Austria guy also laid down pretty easily. I wouldn't have given the penalty, but that's because I think football is getting too soft and I might be a little biased.

He pulled his shirt no doubt, but problem with giving penalties like that is that it means you'll end up having 10 penalties a match if the ref is consistent.

Germany were poor yesterday, no coherency. Croatia were more organised and aggressive and deserved the win.

Predictions for tonight. Holland 2 - 0 France. Italy 1 - 0 Romania.

Can't see France scoring. Especially if they perform like they did against Romania. Italy are going to have to completely go for it. If they don't get an early goal, the game will open up as they get desperate, and Romania just may steal a winner like they did against Holland in qualifiers.

Would've given it personally. Shirt pullling is ****ing annoying and the free kick had already been pulled back once. Wouldn't say it's getting too soft either, but more the effect diving is having on the game and referees, which is something I don't agree with. Which leads into the argument of whether or not punishments should be adminstered after a game using video evidence for anything the referee missed.
Oh, ref was english too.
Predictions for tonight. Italy to see off Romania 2-0. Clinical finishing for the few chances that will arise.
As for France - Holland. It's interesting. I'll be expecting the France to step up slightly, I think their attitude will probably make the game quite crap to be honest. A draw of some kind, 1-1 or 0-0. Don't think it will be exciting. Of course if France realise that they'll need to attack, not the cautious approach that they are sticking with, could have a very nice game on our hands. Obviously hoping for an Oranje win though.

Ricardios, could you answer my previous question about the defence please? Here it is:

Got to ask though, who's better in your eyes, Boulahrouz or Mathijsen? Haven't seen any of Mathijsen but Boulahrouz isn't exactly a star performer in the premiership.

Hardly know anything about Mathijsen but Boulahrouz, although failing to consistently perform at Chelsea, looked solid against Italy.

What do you guys think about Scolari being declared as Chelsea manager? Great manager no doubt but I'm thinking the language barrier will be a big issue. Also, I find it very weird that they declared it halfway through the tournament. It would have made more sense if he and Chelsea would have waited until after he was done with Portugal?

Great capture for Chelsea. I find it funny though, Chelsea will bring tons of media which he said he didn't like and also the timing was interesting. As I would've expected them to wait. Suppose that paycheck is just a bit too good to turn down however.

In other news, Romania have gone 4-3-3!

The things that are pissing me off about the Eurocup are;
a) My dad hogs the T.V., so I can't play Brawl whenever I want.
b) It's being taken place in Vienna, where I live! That sucks, man.

I didn't think the Holland France game could be better then the Holland Italy game. I was wrong. Do I really need to say anything about the match? Holland look brilliant.

Things couldn't be tighter in that group. Wwho knows who will go through with Holland.

What was the score?

4-1 to Holland.

Yes, we did an amazing job once again. Only difference with Italy was that France got to our goal quite a few times. Thank God we've got van de Sar! He truly saved the team. Also, I think that French keeper sucks quite a bit. I mean, he should've had Robben's goal and also that of van Persie. Everyone in the Netherlands thought when Robben scored that goal:"WTF, how was that possible!".

And to Sporkman, sorry I didn't answer it earlier, but I think that Mathijsen sucks balls. He gets pushed away too often and lets his man get too much space to move around in(also one of the reasons why Henry scored). In my eyes he's just a big wuss. He should definetly be switched with Heitinga/Bouma which are, in my opinion, much and much better. In the qualifying games/friendly matches, a lot of goals were caused by Mathijsen making a mistake/not trying hard enough. Honest to God, every time he gets the ball, I start to sweat out of fear of him making a huge mistake.

Boulahrouz, admittedly, had a bad season, but he's a real worker and can be a really tough player to play against. So far he's doing pretty good in this tournament. In my opinion he's better than Mathijsen.

Are you satisfied with this answer?

i want greece to be the champion again but I belive spain will be the champ in this euro

I was glad the last time when Greece won it, everyone loves an underdog and all, but they played horrible football against Sweden, if that ultra-defensive, unimaginative playstyle is the one they're gonna use for the whole tournament I'd hate to see them progress this year..
Holland are wonderful though, 3-1 up against France, but still pushing forward to attack and they go and get another one (beaut of a goal it was too.), they look like the ones who'll be playing the most entertaining football this year. They just seemed to flow, always looking to attack.They reminded me a lot of Arsenal in that game, actually.

I've always rooted for Poland because I have family there. That penalty kick in extra time killed me

And the Dutch have far and away looked the best of any one I've seen thus far.