Summer UEFA Euro 2012

[Imperium]

One thing this has taught everyone is Italy should have a match-fixing scandal before every major tournament.

 

[ibra87]

One thing this has taught everyone is Italy should have a match-fixing scandal before every major tournament.

Indeed, WC 82, WC 06, now xD


That was beautiful. Pirolo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Balzaretti played so awesomly. And for once Balotelli actually performed. I have a tear in my eye. Spain vs Italy is the perfect final and hopefully both teams will bring it. The Italian defence really brought the best EC attack to a halt.

 

[predsfan]

I think we can all agree the final is just a little more interesting with Mario Balotelli in it . There's just something about him that I can't help cheering for him. I love that guy. It's even gotten to a point where I may have to start rooting for Manchester City.

Anyways, that was an entertaining match, and I would say more entertaining than every match since the quarterfinals started combined. I think it really helped that Italy got the lead early and Germany had to push towards the end (and more importantly had the capability to push, unlike France/Czech Republic/Greece against their respective opponent). That 2 goal lead for Italy never felt really safe (even in added time). Here's hoping Italy can keep it up, but more importantly I hope the game doesn't go to PKs. I hate when important games are decided like that, especially when the game is for the championship.

 

[Googlez_kun]

I'd say this was the first time Germany faced an actual challenge. Portugal sucked at the beginning. No need to mention the Dutch. Denmark wasn't a big deal and Greece was good, but not good enough to compete with Germany. So it seems Italy was a little too much for this young team, though I think they needed this. They were way too confident before the game and hopefully learned their lesson now. I think they will get their time to shine fully in the next World Cup.
As I thought it's Portugal and Germany fighting for third place now,just like in the WC 2006.Haha.

Looking forward to Italy vs Spain. Hopefully Spain will play with more passion this time. Italy will push them a lot, so either they'll overrun Spain or actually spark some fighting spirit in Spain,making it an interesting match.

 

[jorped]

I'd say this was the first time Germany faced an actual challenge. Portugal sucked at the beginning. No need to mention the Dutch. Denmark wasn't a big deal and Greece was good, but not good enough to compete with Germany. So it seems Italy was a little too much for this young team, though I think they needed this. They were way too confident before the game and hopefully learned their lesson now. I think they will get their time to shine fully in the next World Cup.
As I thought it's Portugal and Germany fighting for third place now,just like in the WC 2006.Haha.

Looking forward to Italy vs Spain. Hopefully Spain will play with more passion this time. Italy will push them a lot, so either they'll overrun Spain or actually spark some fighting spirit in Spain,making it an interesting match.

There won't be such game ... third place is only at worldcup. And if you say Portugal sucked at the beg, it's the same as saying Germany was a bit, but just tiny bit better than that

Fuck Spain ... i will root for Italy. Not that i like any of those in particularly ... but always Spain starts to piss me off. So i will root for Italy. And Spain defeated my team on the penalties .. ofc i am pissed with them .. they wouldn't even be at this stage if it wasn't the clear help they had against Croatia with at least an obvious penalty.

Not that i really care .. but i definitely think i will hope for Italy's win... Pirlo btw, what a player. If this keeps like this, and Italy wins he will be considered the best player of the Euro.

 

[ibra87]

Not that i really care .. but i definitely think i will hope for Italy's win... Pirlo btw, what a player. If this keeps like this, and Italy wins he will be considered the best player of the Euro.

Indeed, Italy for the win (but unlike you, my favorites are indeed Italy because of Juventus =D). It's really funny how Pirlo was sold by AC Milan to Juventus because "he's not in the coach's plan" and Juve ended up winning the league thanks to him.

 

[Bugzee]

PIRLO IS A FECKING LEGEND!

DUDE IS UNSTOPPABLE IN MIDFIELD!

FORZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAA ITALIAAAAAAAAAAAAANOOOOO!


Germany were literally hopeless after conceding the first goal. I was astonished in the early parts of the first half of how easy it was for Italy to play the ball around the German half. I would've expected so much better from them considering the way in which they were playing in previous matches. Greece was a walk over. Everyone knows that but to lose so badly to Italy with the maximum period of recovery/rest!? Pathetic. Italy truly deserved the victory.


I think Pirlo and Mountinho would compliment each other in midfield. De Rossi and Pirlo were definitely the driving force today in the game. Bonucci played really well too. Can't wait for the final. I really hope Italy win it.

 

[Jorge D. Dragon]

That was totally craze. Never expected Italy to win against Germany. Even though I was rooting for Germany, thanks Italy for the great performance we saw yesterday.
Pirlo was amsing yesterday the same as de Rossi. But also Ballotelli finally showed why he is one of the best strikers today. Even though during the tournament he didn't show his best all the time, but still he showed it, when his team really needed it and managed to keep cool all the time he played.

P.S. Yesterday I just got the feeling that it was actual final.

P.P.S. It was also great to see Noyer flying and playing a ball with a head in the centre of the pitch to get it back to Italy's box. It was truly a great match.

 

[BBB Banana]

Man I feel really sad. No words can discribe how disappointed I am with football. I think i will stop wathcing football for a while after the Euro final and Libertadores final (south american equivalent to Champions League)

Really I've been having a lot of bad luck with my team choices so I feel really sad. I feel almost as sad as when Brazil got out of the two last world cups after Germany and Portugal lost. Only team that still makes me smile is Porto but even then they can never make it far in Champions League...

Santos my team here in Brazil was eliminated from Libertadores by our biggest rivalsand is doing poorly on our national championship... I just hope our rivals don't win against the Almighty Boca Juniors.

Last two world Cups were a complete let down for me... not only Brazil was awful, Germany which I also rooted for got eliminated even after beating our eternal rivals Argentina by an epic 4-1 result in the last one and by penalties in previous one. Portugal also never gets too far.

Man International competitons have onlyy been making me sad lately. Not to talk about Copa America in which Brazil missed 4 penalties in a row after being way superior to paraguay the entire game... a total disgrace...

Well at least with Italy the list of teams for Confederation cup is almost finished and looks interesting, only the African champion is missing, Hope Cotre D'Ivore makes it as they are a good team to complement the list.

But well for a while after this I will rest from football...

 

[ibra87]

What can I say. Italy had every crap luck you could possibly imagine from Chiellini getting injured (by far the best Italian defender) to Thiago motta getting injured aftter 3 minutes play leaving Italy with 10 men totally naked against Spain.


But at least this was the top level Spain that finally after all these matches showed the true level of Barcelona&Real Madrid and if there is any match in the world I wouldn't mind Italy losing to then it's definitley this top level Spain.

The last 2 goals were just silly though. You know that when Torres scores



That or the final actually was Germany-Italy, at least that was 2 teams at their top.




.... Shit. Would've really enjoyed a final with 2 teams at their top.

---------- Post added at 10:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 PM ----------

Inter once more led Italy to their loss

 

[zelllogan]

Spain is scary. And they did that without their best striker (Villa) & their best defender (Puyol).
They end the tournament with the best defense, the best attack, ...

They will be though to beat in 2 years as well.

 

[Bugzee]

Well, to put it simply...it's like what that BBC commentator said during the second half; "Spain are doing exactly what Italy did to Germany".

They got owned.


Italy really didn't have any chance at all. Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets dealt with Pirlo easy. He had no way of threading the ball through to Cassano. It was far from being the best game of the tournament but it was still entertaining. ^^ I guess this was the last final major tournament for Buffon, Pirlo and a few other italian players. =( It would've been great to see them win it but the spainards were just too much for them. I still find it incredibly suprising that Del Bosque had so much talent in reserve (subs) that you so easily forget about them. Tonight summed it up though. Torres and Mata on for Fabregas and Iniesta. What a team! What. A. Team.

 

[Googlez_kun]

A deserved win for Spain. Hurray!!

At first I thought it would be an even match, but Spain totally owned Italy.

 

[goldb]

In that first half performance, Spain showed exactly why they were the best and gave people the performance they had been waiting to see from Spain. They absolutely shut Pirlo down which was the key, but they did it was such a long period and so often that he had no impact, also neutralised Cassano and so Balotelli didn't get many chances at goal.

Everything that could've gone wrong for Italy, went wrong last night but even before then they were 2-0 down and it would've taken a Spanish like performance for them to come back. I knew the game was over after the first goal.

 

[jorped]

Congratz Spain ... finally showed why they are the best.
And finally is out the best 23 of Euro ... and once again stupid nominations happened.

Gerrard is there, while he wasn't anything special and a player like Moutinho, that together with Pepe and Coentrão were the best of Portugal doesn't even show up on the list ... must be cuz he plays on FC Porto, that isn't obviously a Real Madrid or a Barcelona. Uefa once again showing how crappy their nominations are

 

[goldb]

Here it is, EURO 2012 Team of the tournament:

I won't question any spanish or german inclusion, but Ibrahimovic I've not seen play fully so can someone tell me if his place is deserved or what?

 

[jorped]

Here it is, EURO 2012 Team of the tournament:

I won't question any spanish or german inclusion, but Ibrahimovic I've not seen play fully so can someone tell me if his place is deserved or what?

It isn't. He much likely got that place because of that amazing goal ... Busquets, Rossi, Gerrard, Khedira ... and Moutinho isn't there ?

 

[goldb]

Gerrad's place is deserved, if there was such thing as captain of the tournament, I'd give it to him too. He showed great leadership and is the player you look to on the pitch to change the game. Busquets possibly could be rid of, and maybe Khedira too.

 

[jorped]

Maybe Zlatan's nomination isn't that awkward at all. He was one of the best from Sweden... btw even though Hummels played not that well against Italy, i think he deserved to had been nominated. And for that i would exchange Piqué for him.
And there are someplayers that are there, just for the reputation they have. Ozil for example, wasn't nowhere near of showing the quality that he really has. For me he ended being "mediocre" based on what he can do, so don't know if i would also nominate him.

---------- Post added at 03:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:15 PM ----------

Gerrad's place is deserved, if there was such thing as captain of the tournament, I'd give it to him too. He showed great leadership and is the player you look to on the pitch to change the game. Busquets possibly could be rid of, and maybe Khedira too.

Don't think so, even though i haven't payed that much attention to the games. But my opinion is that if there was a place of Gerrad it wouldn't be on this Euro's definitely. He is nowhere as good as he was on the past imo. Moutinho was way better, and i don't say this because i am Portuguese ,it's undeniable. But they had to put someone from England ... and a team like Porto still doesn't actually "force" the Uefa to nominate any of theirs players.

---------- Post added at 03:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:20 PM ----------

Mario Gomez isn't there, which i also don't think that was fair.

 

[goldb]

It's true Gerrard isn't the "tank" he was in his prime but experience has made him understand the game a lot more and as he knows his body more, he doesn't move around the field as much. He was invaluable and so influential for England in this tournament, above any other player in that team I believe; that's why I'd include him in that 23-man squad. So I dunno where you get this "had" to include him in the squad.

Only time I had noticed Moutinho was against Spain where I thought he was brilliant and made some quite amazingly timed tackles and understood his role and what he needed to do. If he performed at that level in his other games, then his place would be deserved.

You make a good point about Gomes, I'd definitely take out Ibra and have another striker there, most possibly Gomes but saying that, despite his goals, he didn't really stand out to me.

In the end, the winning team always has the most players in the Best 23 squad but I think Pique deserves his place, so does Ramos. There wasn't many better defenders in the tournament that them IMO.