Mixed Martial Arts Forum banner

[OFFICIAL] Euro Cup 2008 Thread

15K views 488 replies 34 participants last post by  dontazo 
#1 ·
Euro Cup 2008: Austria/Switzerland

Every four years, Europe celebrates the greatest game on Earth with one of the biggest sporting tournaments known to man. The Euro Cup is the culmanation of Europe's 16 best footballing nations.

The Defending Champions, Greece, will be looking to prove skeptics wrong and successfully defend their title, however 15 other nations have come to Austria/Switzerland to try their luck at glory.



Here are your 16 contendors and 1st round Fixtures




The Euro Cup will start in 9 days!


Talk picks, results, reviews and analysis here!
 
See less See more
1
#103 ·
How did they look in the second half, I missed much of the game.
 
#105 ·
Spain looks real good and IMO are the team to beat with all the talent they have with Villa, Torres, Xavi, Fabergas, Alonso, Ineista(sp) and so many more.
 
#113 ·
Pyros it won't matter neither of these teams are beating Spain.

And Plazz I would disagree this tourny is loaded but I don't think any team has more talent than Spain.
 
#116 ·
Nope, not joking at all. In fact, let's break'm down.

Germany:

Goal Keeping:

Jens Lehman, arguably top 4 goalie in the tourny, or even the world. Dudes solid and has always shown it. Plus, head to head against Casillas, I think/know Jens is better.

Defense:

Germany's defense follows the traditional, uniform German wall. They have a very fast and solid dude in Lahm, who creates a lot more possibilities than Ramos, they don't have the greatest center back as Spain does in Puyol, but that's wht makes it better. Spain has to rely on just one guy when Germany uses all 4 guys.

Midfield:
Frings, Ballack, and Schwienstieger are all better than Fabregas, Iniesta and Garcia, IMO. Germany works much better as a team and it is evident in their midfield, while Spain is more free and sporadic.

Attack:

While Torres and Villa seem like an unstoppable force, Podolski and Klose are still much better strikers. They use the entirity of the pitch more and come back to help alot. Plus, Klose, aside from being an animal, is also a great passer, so he's always got his eye on the open Podolski.


France:

Goal Keeping:

You can say Casillas is indeed the better goalie compared to Coupet.

Defense:

I don't think there's a defense out there better than France's. Thuram, Sagnol, Gallas, Abidal, and Evra are world class players, whos defensive talents are only rivaled by the Italians or the Germans.

Midfield:

Ribery > Fabregas, anyday of the week. The dude is a genius and is being hailed as the next Zizou. They also have worlds of experience in their midfield. Viera, and Makelele are multiple world champions, no one holds down the middle better than those two.

Attack:

France has Thierry freakin Henry, better than Villa and Torres combined. Now aside from that, they have Anelka, Benzema and Gouvou, all world class strikers.


Italy:

Goal Keeping:

Gigi Buffon, one of the best goal keepers ever. Dude makes Casillas look like a child. Reyes as well.

Defense:

Italy is notorious for their defense. Caniving and calculating, when theyre on, theyre on. They work like a special ops team, technically dissassembling the attack and creating their own. Theres absolutely no question here, who is the better defense.

Midfield:

Italy's midfield works a bit like their defense, but they have two aspects, they have the engine, which is Gattuso, and the maestro, which is Pirlo. Fabregas has literally nothing on Pirlo. Iniesta, who I believe is better than Cesc, still isn't AS seasoned as someone like Cameronnesi.

Attack:

You can possibly make a claim that Villa and Torres are better than Toni and Del Pierro, and I might agree with you, but with the rest of the team behind them, it's really hard to be 100% sure.


Netherlands:

Goal Keeping: Edwin van der Saar. Arguably the best goal keeper in the world right now. Reyes and Iker don't even come close.

Defense:

The Dutch defense was a bit questionable, but after yesterday's game, it is clear that Oijer, Van Bronkhorst and Boulahrouz are more than capable. Oijer showed that you can leave him alone against 3 guys and he's perfectly fine. And Giovani showed he can be right up there, helping with attack.

Midfield:

Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, Kuyt, Englaar, come on. Sneijder and Van der Vaart have been known to run teams all by themnselves (IE. Hamburg and Ajax). Kuyt is the dynamic midfielder/striker that can play almost anywhere on the pitch.

Attack:

Ruud Van Nistelrooy, one of the greatest strikers EVER to play the game, dude can smell a goal from a mile away, leaps and bounds better than Torres and Villa. But now you got Babel, Van Persie and Jan Venegoor. That's one of the most deadliest attacks in all of Europe.



You can also make a claim that Portugal's midfield is worlds better than Spain's, as well as their defense, but since they have literally ZERO strikers, I'll leave them out.

Spain are perrenial losers, they always have an amazing team, but they just can never pull it together, never. They don't quite have the chemistry and quite frankly they almost always switch up their roster, so you hardly ever get a formula going.

Hope that helped :D
 
#118 ·
I agree with you on the goaltenders just remember that Van der Saar and Lehman are older guys so after long season there defiantly could be some letdown.

Except for France, Spain has the best defence in the world. Both Puyol, and Sergio are top flight defenders and Lahm isn't as good as you are givin him credit for.



You are forgetting Spain's depth in the midfield they also have Xavi and Alonso who are both very good. Best midfield in the world depth wise no doubt. And all their midfielders are top class.

Striker wise Torres is one of the best strikers in the world already and Villa is becoming one. And was the most dominant striker in qualifying for Euro 2008.

Ruud is getting older and not as explosive as he used to be.

Thierry Henry isn't the striker he used to be and is injured right now.

And as a Chelsea fan don't even get me started on the disappearing acts that Anelka can pull.

Klose and Podolski I would say are the only pair talent wise that matches Spain's talent.


And yes Spain loses a lot and there is a good chance they lose this one to but talent wise I think they are the best in the world.
 
#117 ·
That Kuyt guy is ok. :p

Dutch FTW.
 
#122 ·
Well for one, they have both been tested on every stage. Casillas is young and has a lot of juvenile slip ups. He's a stud, don't get me wrong, but he hasn't been in the same games, and hasn't faced the same competition these guys have.

Lehman and EVS are dudes who can carry a team on their backs, I truely can't see Iker doing that. In fact, I think Reyes is a much better leader than him.
 
#123 ·
Puyol and Ramos are better than Cannavaro right now. Casillas has very few slips, one of the reasons Real Madrid keeps winning matches is because Casillas is there to save their ass when the defense slips. To me Casillas is more impressive than Lehman and Van der Saar, but I haven't seen them play as extensively as I have Casillas so I could be wrong. BTW, Casillas has played in the biggest stages, you know he has won the Champions League twice, right?
 
#124 ·
I don't know man, I actually think Madrid let's in way too many easy goals.

And no Puyol aint what he once was, he's getting old and they rely way too much on him. And Ramos is far too young, he isn't as matured in the back 4 as any of the guys I named.

And yes, sure he has, but then again, how far has he gone internationally? In fact, how far has Spain gone internationally? And how many teams has he actually led, or saved from the brink of defeat?

The way I see it, this is how I rank the GK's.

EVS
Peter Cech
Buffon
Lehman
Cassilas
Reyes
Boruc
Ricardo
Coupet
 
#125 ·
Who is Reyes? I think you mean Reina. And as I said, if it wasn't for Casillas Real Madrid wouldn't be winning titles, Casilla saves the team on a regular basis. And don't getting titles with Spain means nothing in regard to individual talent, as I said Spain has great players but doesn't seem to be able to get it all together, put Casillas on Germany or Netherlands and I guarantee you he will do as good as Lehman and Van der Saar, if not better. The only gatekeeper I think is better is Buffon, and I'm saying that because of history because I think he's going downhill lately, he's still very good but not as good as he used to be. Puyol is as good as ever, in fact he's one of the few players in Barca that is very regular and always gives 100%, while the rest of the team has been playing like shit lately. Ramos may not have the experience but he is very good and is better than Cannavaro, Cannavaro comitted quite a few errors this season with Real Madrid. Same with Pepe. I think of that list the only ones better are Matterazzi and Zambrotta.
 
#126 ·
Shit my bad, why did I keep saying Reyes, I meant Reina. lol

Look, I never said Iker isn't good because he hasn't won any international titles, neither have Cech, Lehman, and EVS. It is just the experience and leadership skills that set them apart.

Iker is an incredible athlete, but he's just not on the same level as any of those guys. And it's kinda easy to be a leader at Madrid, seeing as how feeble their whole team is.

Sure, you can add Puyol as the greatest defenders list, I'll agree, but Ramos is nowhere near the player the rest of the pack are.
 
#127 ·
Man, me saying that he is better than anyone you mentioned except Zambrotta and Matterazzi is just my opinion, but if you don't include him in that list don't include Cannavaro either because he has looked worse than Ramos this season. Iker has good enough leadership and in pure goalkeeping ability (reflexes and such) he is above those goalkeepers, IMO. Leading the defense isn't that important, let the defense take care of themselves, and you take care of stopping the balls, it works for him in Real Madrid.
 
#131 ·
I've never really sat down and watched a soccer game before, but I watched Spain vs Russia. Man that was actually pretty cool. The Russians were kinda killed but I still enjoyed it. I'm taping the rest of the games this week lol
I have a lot of German heritage so I'm hopin they beat Croatia!
 
#132 ·
I'm with Plazz, you need a goalie who is a leader on the field. He has a view of the whole field and will see things that others can't and he has to be able to vocalize those things. He also has to be able to control his back 4 and put them into position to make plays. Iker doesn't seem to have this just yet but he will most likely in time. IMO Cech is the best out there right now even though he had a less than stellar performance last game.
 
#133 ·
Being a goalkeeper and i have had both bad days and days where the defensive wall in front of me has been anything but defensive.

Akinfeev played well and he was right to be pissed off, The defenders aren't completely at fault as Villa and Torres are some of the worlds best and most can't keep up with them especially at the level of the Russian defenders but they still made some very big mistakes.

Like Plazz and MLS said it is important to have a goalkeeper that can lead, Mainly the defense.

My top goalkeepers of Euro 08.

1. Buffon
2. Cech
3. Lehmann
4. Van Der Sar
5. Boruc
6. Cassilas


Honorable mention - Robert Enke, The Germans won't be missing a fantastic goalkeeper after Kahn and Lehmann have left. Not as solid as the names above but has pulled off some spectacular saves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svog-ENhoug
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top