And they say international football is on its last legs. That’s what the advocates of all-encompassing club football have been telling us for the past decade or so. Yet looking at the faces of the Italian players as they belted out the national anthem before the Holland match on Monday, you could see the sheer emotional depth that comes with the donning of the Azzuri shirt. Ditto for their Dutch opponents and I daresay, any of the other teams duking it out for the title of European champions in Austra and Switzerland.
Not to mention the overflowing stands and the sheer atmosphere at most of the matches seen so far at Euro 2008.
International football is very much alive and well. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Clubs are fine, and the day-to-day slog of following your favorite club through the season is all well and good, but for true passion and nationalistic fervor you can’t do better than international soccer. More so in these days of cosmopolitan clubsides that hardly reflect the cities in which they are based. I mean, is there anything English about the Arsenal Football Club club these days?
But the real case for international soccer is being made on the field and Euro 2008 is proving one of the most exciting championships I’ve seen in recent years. After the first two rounds, there’ve been a couple of poor games – France v Romania, for example – but the number of exciting, top quality matches on view has far outweighed that.
And it’s not just the usual suspects – Spain, Holland and Portugal - that are providing the thrills either. On the contrary, while the likes of France and defending champions Greece have been off colour, some of the best team performances have come from unsung teams from Croatia and Romania. That’s certainly made for some surprising results and some really exciting soccer.
The best games have so far come from Group C. Holland have surprised and impressed everyone with their tenacious defence and fast, counter-attacking game, seeing off both Italy and France in two entertaining goal-filled games. The controversy surrounding Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first goal dominated the Italy game, but the execution of the other two goals was quite breathtaking. France lacked inspiration, despite the best efforts of Frank Ribery, but even their usually tight backline couldn’t cope with the pace and industry of Dutch substitutes Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben. Beyond the players at his disposal though, Marco van Basten’s positive outlook is one of the reasons why the Dutch have suddenly become everyone’s favorite. Many coaches would go cautious with a one goal lead, yet with the Dutch leading France at the break on Friday, van Basten took off defensive midfielder Orlando Engelaar for Robben, a move that would prove decisive.
But the more surprising showing in Group C has been the performance of unsung Romania. Let’s face it, when this was dubbed the “Group of Death”, no one expected that Romania would be one of the “killers”. Yet their 1-1 draw with Italy was one of the best games of the first round and they could have sent home the Italians had Adrian Mutu been more accurate from the penalty spot. That could still happen, if Romania find a way to beat what will likely be an under-strength Dutch team in the final group game.
As for the Italians, I was impressed with the persistence of their attacking play against Romania – especially full backs Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso – yet they have struggled to find the net in their two games. Roberto Donadoni’s wholesale changes improved on the first game performance, yet one wonders if he knows what his best team is. I think they deserve a place in the quarter finals – it’s a fun team to watch – and they should beat the French in the last group game on Tuesday.
The less said about France the better. Raymond Domenech’s decision to leave out Mathieu Flamini and pick an injured Patrick Vieira is only one symptom of his continued reliance on old, tired players at the expense of a new generation. Vieira is yet to feature at this finals and even if he makes an appearance against Italy, as with Zidane in 2002, it’s likely to be too little too late.
As for the other groups, Portugal have looked pretty solid with Deco back to his very best and Ronaldo always a menace. They should reach the last four again – regardless of who they face in the quarter finals. Turkey pulled off a minor miracle - with a little help from Petr Cech – in that comeback win against Czech Republic, but they proved they can play attacking football when they need to and will be pumped up for their clash with Croatia in the last eight. Villareal striker Nihat Kavechi may have stole the show with his two late goals, but the man to watch is Hamit Altintop, the Bayern midfielder who took a more central role in the second half and had a hand in both goals.
Croatia have looked pretty solid too – no surprise that they beat England at Wembley in the qualifiers – and that match with Turkey should be an exciting one that I expect the Croats to shade. The Germans still look like a team in transition, although losing to Croatia is certainly no disgrace. They could still come good, if Michael Ballack can step his game and someone other than Lukas Podolski figures out how to score goals. Otherwise, they’ll have a really tough time coping with Portugal in the last eight.
I tipped Spain to win it all and they’ve looked pretty good after two games in Group D. This was supposed to be Fernando Torres’ finals yet it’s David Villa that’s banging in all the goals. No matter. That only underlines the attacking quality available to Luis Aragones and with creative riches in midfield they should continue to thrive for a while yet. At least till the semi finals where they seem destined to play…Holland.
If I had to call the semi final line up today, I’d pick Portugal, Croatia, Holland and Spain. Yet, as Greece proved four years ago, upsets can happen. So I certainly won’t be counting out Germany, Turkey or even Romania.
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