Summer UEFA Euro 2012

[xi0]

I'm not sure if the back 4 can be shore up in this tournament. Ramos really shouldn't have cut his hair, he doesn't look like the same player (). Plus it's pretty much a known fact that Ramos and Pique don't have much use for one another. While I think they're all more than professional enough to not let any of that get in the way, it doesn't help chemistry. Ramos has always been the type of player to want to be involved offensively and I find it odd that he plays Right Back for RM but is now slotted in at Center Back for Spain because Tarzan is out. I guess he's played both but I'm used to him being on the outside for some reason.

In any case I think putting Alonso in at a lone back mid position won't do much. I like the idea of a 4-3-3, though they've sort of done that without a true striker against Italy. I don't think Mata would fit well in that formation as he always struck me as more of a Winger but who knows. Like anything else it becomes about who you sit in that case.

 

[FrostyMouse]

I'm not sure if the back 4 can be shore up in this tournament. Ramos really shouldn't have cut his hair, he doesn't look like the same player (). Plus it's pretty much a known fact that Ramos and Pique don't have much use for one another. While I think they're all more than professional enough to not let any of that get in the way, it doesn't help chemistry. Ramos has always been the type of player to want to be involved offensively and I find it odd that he plays Right Back for RM but is now slotted in at Center Back for Spain because Tarzan is out. I guess he's played both but I'm used to him being on the outside for some reason.

In any case I think putting Alonso in at a lone back mid position won't do much. I like the idea of a 4-3-3, though they've sort of done that without a true striker against Italy. I don't think Mata would fit well in that formation as he always struck me as more of a Winger but who knows. Like anything else it becomes about who you sit in that case.

I meant shoring up the back four for WC 14. :P

Yeah, I know. It's the same thing that was present with the England squad up until this year's Euros. You would think that people would be professional enough to get past club rivalries, but they're really not. Ramos is only a CB for Spain because they have no other capable defenders at the moment. Will Tarzan ever play again, or are his injuries not that severe? I don't like Arbeloa at all, nor that Alba (I think?) fellow. I'd prefer Ramos as the RB as he's an attacking minded player, and being a CB stifles a lot of that.

I can agree with that. Having a single holding midfielder doesn't do anything. A 4-3-3 without an actual striker is really more like some screwy 4-6-0 though, which we saw was the problem. When Torres came on and made it an actual 4-3-3, the squad livened up completely. He did miss two quite easy chances, but that's not to say that the formation didn't work out. Mata doesn't work in a 4-3-3 at all, which is why I didn't mention him for that. Mata really only works for Spain if they're completely focused on offense and have a respectable back four, something which isn't true at all. Mata works in a 4-2-3-1, such as what Chelsea have, but even Chelsea doesn't really have two dedicated holding midfielders. Lampard's become a holding midfielder as he no longer possesses the pace to be a CAM and then, for next season, we'll use Mikel/Ramires as a second holding midfielder and/or in a slightly more advanced position.

I think Spain's problem in general is that a lot of their skill players are smaller and aren't versatile players who can be used around the pitch. Del Bosque's gone to relying on Busquets, not because he's that good of a player, but because the rest are too offensive and won't sit at all. While Spain's midfielders are more skilled than Germany's overall, Germany's are more versatile and you can move them around more easily.

I think a 4-3-3 without Busquets is Del Bosque's best option, but he's never really done that wholeheartedly. If Tarzan was present, I think he'd be willing to ditch Busquets and trust more in the back four, but this issue will plague Spain for a while. I still think Spain wins the Euros, but I don't think that they have a chance in WC 14 unless they fix their defensive issues. If, and when, Villa returns from the broken leg, what do you do then? A large amount of players who break their legs are never the same as they're just not willing to risk it. By WC 14, Torres will be older and Villa's a question mark, so who will Del Bosque turn to? Llorente or Negredo? He doesn't trust either of them as far as he can throw them. I just see the future of Spain as being more like a 4-6-0 and hoping things work out. You can't get a replacement for Messi and that's the problem. Torres and Navas don't link up perfectly with the Barca players. Now, if Del Bosque could convince Messi to ditch out on Argentina and become a Spanish citizen, he'd be in business. :P

 

[xi0]

I pretty much agree with all of that analysis

Just think if Messi did become a Spanish citizen way back when

There's not chance of that ever happening though, he would be completely trashed by his home country

 

[FrostyMouse]

I pretty much agree with all of that analysis

Just think if Messi did become a Spanish citizen way back when

There's not chance of that ever happening though, he would be completely trashed by his home country

Messi moved to Spain at a relatively early age, and as he's lived there for years, he could've done it. Spain would be nigh-on invincible if Messi had become a Spanish citizen.

Yeah, he would get trashed by Argentina if he'd done that, but it's not like there aren't players who have. There are a bunch of Brazilians floating around Europe who became citizens of various European nations for one reason or another, and some of them because they wanted to play international football and they couldn't do that for Brazil.

 

[xi0]

Oh I'm well aware of the story and the narrow miss Spain had.

Yeah but they're not at the level of Messi

---------- Post added at 03:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:26 AM ----------

And yeah we've been through the same thing with Giuseppe Rossi here, but it's soccer so it isn't paid attention to like it should. Sure he's free to do what he wants, but come on man

I actually wasn't that upset to see he didn't make the Italian squad

 

[FrostyMouse]

Oh I'm well aware of the story and the narrow miss Spain had.

Yeah but they're not at the level of Messi

---------- Post added at 03:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:26 AM ----------

And yeah we've been through the same thing with Giuseppe Rossi here, but it's soccer so it isn't paid attention to like it should. Sure he's free to do what he wants, but come on man

I actually wasn't that upset to see he didn't make the Italian squad

Yeah, I know. In a way, I wish that he had become a Spanish citizen.

Of course they're not. A lot of them were sucky players.

Yeah, he should play for the US as he is an American, but he has more chances to succeed if he plays for Italy. He could have become the star of America though.

The only reason that he didn't make the Italy squad is that he's injured...He tore his ACL, iirc.

 

[xi0]

Ah yeah, I forgot that detail

In any case I don't think Italy is in horrible shape at FW with Balotelli, Cassano, and Di Natale. Not sure if he was needed anyway...kind of a silly statement as far as FW go but whatever.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Ah yeah, I forgot that detail

In any case I don't think Italy is in horrible shape at FW with Balotelli, Cassano, and Di Natale. Not sure if he was needed anyway...kind of a silly statement as far as FW go but whatever.

That's a rather large detail to forget.

No, they're fine without him. Super Mario was even excellent against Ireland, but it was Ireland.

 

[xi0]

Yeah I even saw him on ESPN in the studio for one of Italy's matches and they asked him about the injury

Still...SCREW 'EM

 

[goldb]

So apparently after last night, Sepp Blatter has come to the conclusion that goal line technology is now a "necessity". Despite the fact that this decision is obvious and should've been implemented a long while ago, his timing could not be worse.

 

[Doraku]

So apparently after last night, Sepp Blatter has come to the conclusion that goal line technology is now a "necessity". Despite the fact that this decision is obvious and should've been implemented a long while ago, his timing could not be worse.

I think he hates England that much . The fact that the goal line referee is absolutely more prone to mistake rather than devices is obvious. He was opposing the idea right? I don't know if goal line is a good idea or not, since some people argue that human error is what makes football game is more interesting .

 

[Bugzee]

England vs Italy. I hope both teams keep there current formations just a few changes will occur I guess. There's bound to be a red card in this game. I just get that feeling.....Ballotelli!? No Toti around thank god!

 

[Jorge D. Dragon]

Seeing what mistake made referee during the match between England and Ukraine... well I don't even know what to say. We had some jokes that maybe a sexy chick has caught his attention and thus he hadn't seen the ball crossing the line, but even though it was just impossible to not see this as there are just tons of refferees at the pitch now. Man they even have one near the gate...
Also I just don't understand Blpatter. He just looks like some crazy fanatic as he doesn't want any progress in football. Of course sometimes mistakes are acceptable, but not such mistakes. Seriously the stadium in Donetsk has Hawk-eye system. You can see every moment and at least know if someone scores goal, so you don't need to invent anything. Everything is already done, you just need to give it a try and enjoy good football. As after this mistake Ukraine (one of the two homing countries) has lost its chance to get to quater-finals. It was especially strange after remembering how Korea was given aid by refferees during 2002 FIFA World Cup...

Nevertheless it would be interesting to watch the first quater-final match between Czech Republic and Portugal. I would say and obvious thing and would choose Portugal as a supposed winner as they have better players and they showed better quality in their respective games in the group stage (even when they lost against Germany), but still it's one match and everything can happen. Especially if Czech Republic will manage to score first and then will 'use a bus to defend" (if you undestand what I mean).
Still I hope the game will be interesting and for now I will be routing for Portugal.

 

[Imperium]

Blatter has come out in support of goal-line technology after the mistakes in the Worldcup and again after this Euro's. It will most likely be in place by the next world cup, they are testing various systems to use I think. Platini as always is against it but his idea of an extra referee was flawed as seen with the Ukraine match. Besides its the IFAB will vote on it if it becomes a law and Platini has little power there if most of FIFA is for it.

The Ukraine goal is being too overplayed. If there was such technology already in place it would have shown Milevsky was offside anyway. That goal would never have counted. A bad referee call was cancelled out by another bad referee call.

 

[Jorge D. Dragon]

Portugal plays better for now, but they just don't have luck as Ronaldo had several moments, but hit crossbar twice. For now the game is ok, but czechs play even better than I expected. The game is at least intrigueing for now, but it also seems that Portugal hasn't shown its best yet for now.

 

[jorped]

Portugal ... Portugal

 

[BBB Banana]

Portugal did another great game specially on the second half. It's the team that has been growing the most during the championship. While some of the favorites keep disappointing like Spain and France. Spain only played really well against Ireland which was the weakest team in tournment without doubt. And France seems to be having some internal issues again.

Portugal and Germany seem to me the two most consistent teams. I'd say Portugal has a bigger shot of winning than I initially thought.

And hell yeah go portugalllllllllllllllllllllllll~

 

[FrostyMouse]

Portugal played well, but in the first half, they were rather shaky.

 

[goldb]

I'll be damned if they get to the final as they'll be playing Spain in the semis if things go according to how I'd want it.

 

[xi0]

Portugal got lucky and was matched up against a team that really didn't belong there in my opinion. No one else in the tournament will be so lucky to face a team of that level.

That being said, Portugal deserved to win.