[Dark Horse]

The second biggest soccer tournament in the world, after the World Cup, is kicking off next month. ESPN will be airing all matches.

http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/


To start the celebrations here's a look at the Dutch attack:

[Rosa]

Holland are going to find it difficult to get past the group stages. No Seedorf and VDV. I wouldn't be surprised if Romania made it to the quarter-finals

[Dark Horse]

VDV is playing. Holland and Portugal are my early picks. The teams that will be the most fun to watch.

Holland has impressive offensive quality: Van Persie (Arsenal), Robben (Real Madrid), van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), and offensive midfielders as Sneyder (Real Madrid), and Van der Vaart (Hamburg). If they take care of defense, they should go far. They won't miss Seedorf, who is well past his prime. Of course it helps that three of these players play for the same club team.

A lot of teams lack quality this year. France is in transition, Spain traditionally underperforms at tournaments, Italy is set up for a letdown (unlikely to win two major cups in a row, after WC), Germany usually goes deep into tournament based on mentality alone, Holland often self-destructs because of infighting, and Portugal, like Spain, has never won anything. Beyond that, I don't see any serious contenders. The Swiss will be tough to beat at home, but aren't going all the way, and Russia could be a dangerous outsider.

[Rosa]

I agree with almost everything you say. If Holland can get past the group of death, I think they have a great chance. But Holland always have a great team and never seem to win anything. Maybe this is there year. As you said most teams lack quality this year and we might see another surprise like Greece in 04. I agree with your comments on Italy, I don't think they have much of a chance unless Luca Toni can carry them to the trophy.

[expl]

I agree with you too, i think that the Netherlands will win Euro this year. cos they have a great team, and several top players like those Dark Horse listed. So as long as they outlast the group favorites France and Italy, they should be in the semi finals at least. And this year's home advantage dosent really help the top teams.

My conclusion is that Netherlands have high chances to win the cup.

[Dark Horse]

Nice to have some euro soccer fans. We may not see a truly great team this year, but there are a lot of teams that are very hard to beat.

Holland looks good on paper (not sure about their defense though), but don't forget that they were kicked out of the last two tournaments (Euro 2004 and WC 2006) by the same country: Portugal.

In the group of death Italy and Holland meet first. I think both teams would be satisfied to share the points. The Dutch do have the advantage in the group stage to play Romania last, in case goal differential decides who qualifies for the next round (while Italy and France are playing simultaneously, with either team possibly needing a win, depending on the score in the Holland-Romania game). Romania is not a bad team, but they could already be eliminated after two games... The Romanian captain, Chivu, played for Ajax when starting his international career. He played with VDV. Chivu postponed shoulder surgery for this tournament and will be playing with injections.

The earliest Holland and Portugal can meet is in the semi-finals. If those teams do indeed meet I would have to give the nod to Portugal, just because Holland hasn't shown a capacity to beat them.

Do you see any other matchups between teams that show a historical edge for one?

[expl]

Well it is in fact the biggest soccer event for the whole month of june, and half of the world is definitely watching it. At least there’s some real action to tie me over before the start of the major soccer seasons.

Yeah there are no real favourites this time round except for Germany. I’m writing Spain off because they haven’t performed in an international level. Sure, their national league is one of the best soccer leagues in the world but it’s driven by the amount of foreign players. Italy’s not going to win euro with their current old palyers. France doesn’t have a real powerful line up this year.

Dark Horse has a point, Portugal does looks good this year. Although they haven’t won any major cups, many people start writing them off. Well they were euro 04 runner-up at least, although they lost to Greece lol. They are growing and i can see they have a strong team this year.

[TheLock]

Italy in the Group of Death yet again.


Anyone have any thoughts on their chances in the Euro?


I cashed a nice 8-1 on them in the Cup.

[decker]

any one actually going this year to euro2008 guys?

[Rosa]

To win Euro

Germany +400
Italy +550
Spain +700
Portugal +750
France +800
Holland +1200

Holland might be worth a small punt at these odds.

[nasdaq888]

The earliest Holland and Portugal can meet is in the semi-finals. If those teams do indeed meet I would have to give the nod to Portugal, just because Holland hasn't shown a capacity to beat them.

Do you see any other matchups between teams that show a historical edge for one?

Hey Dark Horse,

Let me correct you on that one. Holland and Portugal will only meet each other if both teams were to play in the Final game. What this means is that they will be separated until the Final game. I have studied the format of the Euro 2008 finals. UEFA have changed the format (the bracket for the knockout rounds) from the previous 16 team finals (1996, 2000, 2004). In those finals the knockout rounds format were:

1= Group Winners
2= Group Runners-up

Quarter-finals:

Group A1 v Group B2 (Winner 1)
Group B1 v Group A2 (Winner 2)
Group C1 v Group D2 (Winner 3)
Group D1 v Group C2 (Winner 4)

Semi-finals:

Winner 1 v Winner 3
Winner 2 v Winner 4

Final:

(Winner 1 or Winner 3) v (Winner 2 or Winner 4)


For EURO 2008 there is a slight alteration to EURO 1996, 2000, 2004:

Quarter-finals:

Group A1 v Group B2 (Winner 1)
Group B1 v Group A2 (Winner 2)
Group C1 v Group D2 (Winner 3)
Group D1 v Group C2 (Winner 4)

Semi-finals:

Winner 1 v Winner 2
Winner 3 v Winner 4

Final:

(Winner 1 or Winner 2) v (Winner 3 or Winner 4)

As you can see with the alteration above, teams in Group A and Group B will be separated from teams in Group C and D until the FINAL itself. Since Portugal are in Group A and the Dutch are in Group C, they cannot meet until the Final.

I think the motive for this alteration is that UEFA wanted to avoid the same teams from meeting in the group stage as well as the Final. When the EURO final rounds were changed to 16 teams in 1996, there have been 2 instances whereby a team met the same team in the group stage as well as the Final (Germany / Czech Republic in 1996 and Greece / Portugal in 2004).

However by changing the format of the knockout rounds for EURO 2008, this has greatly increased the chance of two teams playing each other twice in the competition. They would simply play again in a semi-final tie rather than in the Final.

This change in format will also benefit the teams in Group A and B since they are generally weaker than teams in Group C and D. Most football (soccer) pundits are already predicting that Germany or Portugal will make to the Final from the top bracket. The teams in Group C and D (Italy, France, Holland, Spain, etc.) have a tough draw because only 1 team from this bracket will make it to the Final on July 29.

[Dark Horse]

Thanks for clarifying the change nasdaq. I didn't realize that.

[nasdaq888]

Thanks for clarifying the change nasdaq. I didn't realize that.

No problem dude. Well Good Luck in EURO 2008 !!!

[pimike]

Anybody think France can lose their game today?

[Dark Horse]

No.

[pimike]

[QUOTE=Dark Horse;778169]No.[/QUOTE]

Hope your right!

[Dark Horse]

They could tie (Germany tied), but a loss in Paris this close to Euro 2008 would start the panic press.

[pimike]

Is this game on tv anywhere?

[pimike]

0-0 half time no tie please

[nasdaq888]

I am watching the France/Ecuador match LIVE on TV. It's half time and the score is still 0-0. France have started the match with almost all there fringe players. Well basically, Domenech wants to try out some players before he names the 23 man squad tomorrow.

[pimike]

what channel is it on? Where are u watching it from?

[nasdaq888]

what channel is it on? Where are u watching it from?

France 1-0.

[pimike]

France 1-0.

Thank You

[nasdaq888]

what channel is it on? Where are u watching it from?

Obviously I'm not watching from the USA.....

As far as I'm concerned, the LIVE soccer coverage in the USA sucks !!!

Still France 1-0.

[pimike]

Once again THANKS

[nasdaq888]

France 2-0 now.

[nasdaq888]

Full time score: France 2-0. Gomis scored both goals.

Congrats on your win. I won't be surprised if Gomis is selected in the 23 man squad. Anelka was not impressive and might be dropped from the French squad.

[pimike]

Thanks Sir

I like that Gomis dude there have been articles about him I read last night before betting France.

[nasdaq888]

Gomis was impressive for St Etienne last season. Hence Domenech decided to select him in the French 30 man provisional squad. France have some excellent strikers in their squad.....Henry, Benzema, Anelka, Govou, Cisse, and Gomis so much so that David Trezeguet was not even selected.

[pimike]

You know your French Soccer


Some of the stuff I read doesn't sound like France has much of a chance this year.

[nasdaq888]

Well the French have a strong squad but whether that will translate into results on the pitch is another matter altogether. The French have the Italians and the Dutch for company in the group stage and that will be pretty tough.

[pimike]

I understand the Itialins have a very strong team.

Anyways should be interesting. U can get great odds right now on France.

[nasdaq888]

Nah I prefer to bet on the individual matches.

Yes the Italians are strong. However it is not easy for a national team to win back-to-back the World Cup and the EURO. The French did it in 1998 and 2000. If the Italians select Cassano, they will have an unpredictable player who can turn things around. Cassano was impressive for Sampdoria this season. If I were Donadoni, I would have also taken Inzaghi to EURO 2008.

[Rosa]

I don't think Italy have much of a chance this year. I don't rate Donadoni and a couple of important players have been in really bad form recently. Pirlo and gatusso had horrible seasons for AC Milan. It was a must that Italy picked Cassano. He is a great player and like nasdaq said "If the Italians select Cassano, they will have an unpredictable player who can turn things around". Now that Totti is retired, Cassano is the only Italian player who can create something out of nothing. I wouldn't be surprised to see Donadoni put cassano on the bench for most of Euro 2008. Italy usually have slow starts but with the group they have, they will have to be at there very best from the start.

[Dark Horse]

Are you from Italy, Rosa? That would be cool; to keep us up to date. A guy like me doesn't get very far in the Gazzetta.


edit:
(huh, never realized they had an English section: http://english.gazzetta.it)