Euro 2012 Thread

[donkeyy0]

I really don't think Germany has looked good against a quality team yet. Probably shouldn't have gotten by Portugal (in my opinion). If De Rossi/Marchisio/Pirlo can maintain control, then they'll at least be able to keep it close.

If the game is fast paced and offensive, expect the Italians to get ripped. If they can slow things down using their midfield, then I think they can keep it close.

Aside from not scoring, this was like Germany/Greece levels of one sidedness.

 

[crazyperfectdevil]

I really don't think Germany has looked good against a quality team yet. Probably shouldn't have gotten by Portugal (in my opinion). If De Rossi/Marchisio/Pirlo can maintain control, then they'll at least be able to keep it close.

If the game is fast paced and offensive, expect the Italians to get ripped. If they can slow things down using their midfield, then I think they can keep it close.

Aside from not scoring, this was like Germany/Greece levels of one sidedness.

totally disagree about the portugal comment.  do i think portugal could have won that game? yes ...absolutely they had some decent chances ..but do i think they deserved to?  No ..germany outplayed them...

I agree that we won't know how good this german side is until we see them play these last games ... but given that it was germany and portugal that came out that group and are now both in the semis ..it seems more doubtful that they're weak

 

[anton girdeaux]

England should count themselves lucky to have even reached the quarters and it's amazing to think that all that was standing between them and the semis was a penalty shootout.

Bollocks; England were well organised & defended well - they were outplayed by Italy without a shadow of a doubt & the better team won. Having said that, Italy's inability to put the ball in the back of the net might end up costing them against Germany, as it almost did against England.

 

[Zee]

England should count themselves lucky to have even reached the quarters and it's amazing to think that all that was standing between them and the semis was a penalty shootout.

Bollocks; England were well organised & defended well - they were outplayed by Italy without a shadow of a doubt & the better team won. Having said that, Italy's inability to put the ball in the back of the net might end up costing them against Germany, as it almost did against England.

Alllowing 20+ shots on goal is defending well?

 

[anton girdeaux]

England should count themselves lucky to have even reached the quarters and it's amazing to think that all that was standing between them and the semis was a penalty shootout.

Bollocks; England were well organised & defended well - they were outplayed by Italy without a shadow of a doubt & the better team won. Having said that, Italy's inability to put the ball in the back of the net might end up costing them against Germany, as it almost did against England.

Alllowing 20+ shots on goal is defending well?

I wasn't talking about one solitary game, I'm talking about the four games that they played in, conceeding three goals and two of those were against Sweden.

For all their failings, England played with a resolute, dogged attitude which was nice to see as an England fan. I predicted an exit at the quarters, but after the debacle that was South Africa, a little bit of pride has been restored.

 

[Zee]

England should count themselves lucky to have even reached the quarters and it's amazing to think that all that was standing between them and the semis was a penalty shootout.

Bollocks; England were well organised & defended well - they were outplayed by Italy without a shadow of a doubt & the better team won. Having said that, Italy's inability to put the ball in the back of the net might end up costing them against Germany, as it almost did against England.

Alllowing 20+ shots on goal is defending well?

I wasn't talking about one solitary game, I'm talking about the four games that they played in, conceeding three goals and two of those were against Sweden.

For all their failings, England played with a resolute, dogged attitude which was nice to see as an England fan. I predicted an exit at the quarters, but after the debacle that was South Africa, a little bit of pride has been restored.

Sorry I thought you were referring to yesterday's game. 

 

[anton girdeaux]

England should count themselves lucky to have even reached the quarters and it's amazing to think that all that was standing between them and the semis was a penalty shootout.

Bollocks; England were well organised & defended well - they were outplayed by Italy without a shadow of a doubt & the better team won. Having said that, Italy's inability to put the ball in the back of the net might end up costing them against Germany, as it almost did against England.

Alllowing 20+ shots on goal is defending well?

I wasn't talking about one solitary game, I'm talking about the four games that they played in, conceeding three goals and two of those were against Sweden.

For all their failings, England played with a resolute, dogged attitude which was nice to see as an England fan. I predicted an exit at the quarters, but after the debacle that was South Africa, a little bit of pride has been restored.

Sorry I thought you were referring to yesterday's game.

The thing is, Italy dominated the game but had England won on penalties, they would have only had themselves to blame as they missed chance after chance. I'm sure had England been an elite team such as Germany & Spain, it'd be Italy on the plane home.

 

[hockeyfan1]

The thing is, Italy dominated the game but had England won on penalties, they would have only had themselves to blame as they missed chance after chance. I'm sure had England been an elite team such as Germany & Spain, it'd be Italy on the plane home.

Good point.  Which is why I wonder if gli Azzurri will indeed defeat Germany.  Many an Italian fan is confident that they will.  We'll see.

 

[Zee]

The thing is, Italy dominated the game but had England won on penalties, they would have only had themselves to blame as they missed chance after chance. I'm sure had England been an elite team such as Germany & Spain, it'd be Italy on the plane home.

Good point.  Which is why I wonder if gli Azzurri will indeed defeat Germany.  Many an Italian fan is confident that they will.  We'll see.

I was surprised Balotelli played the entire match.  I thought after all the misses, Prandelli might go with Di Natale late.  He seems to have a knack for finding the net.  Will be interesting to see how the lineup and subs go for Thursday.

 

[donkeyy0]

The thing is, Italy dominated the game but had England won on penalties, they would have only had themselves to blame as they missed chance after chance. I'm sure had England been an elite team such as Germany & Spain, it'd be Italy on the plane home.

Good point.  Which is why I wonder if gli Azzurri will indeed defeat Germany.  Many an Italian fan is confident that they will.  We'll see.

I was surprised Balotelli played the entire match.  I thought after all the misses, Prandelli might go with Di Natale late.  He seems to have a knack for finding the net.  Will be interesting to see how the lineup and subs go for Thursday.

I was shocked that di natale didn't get into the game, but i was pleased that Prandelli saw that cassano was struggling worse than balotelli. These guys have no freakin finish though.

 

[crazyperfectdevil]

obviously spain is the favourite ..but i'll be pulling for portugal today ...i just can't stand the way spain sucks the life out of a game ..i feel like they're the new jersey devils of soccer

 

[hockeyfan1]

Espa?a ol?!

The Spaniards defeated Portugal (and Ronaldo subsequently) 4-2 on penalty kicks, after a scoreless match.  Cesc Fabregas kicked the winner.

Spain has made history winning three major tournaments in a row.

Not bad por les espa?oles!

 

[Guru Tugginmypuddah]

Espa?a ol?!

The Spaniards defeated Portugal (and Ronaldo subsequently) 4-2 on penalty kicks, after a scoreless match.  Cesc Fabregas kicked the winner.

Spain has made history winning three major tournaments in a row.

Not bad por les espa?oles!

What three tournaments are those?

 

[hockeyfan1]

Espa?a ol?!

The Spaniards defeated Portugal (and Ronaldo subsequently) 4-2 on penalty kicks, after a scoreless match.  Cesc Fabregas kicked the winner.

Spain has made history winning three major tournaments in a row.

Not bad por les espa?oles!

What three tournaments are those?

My mistake.  Spain has not won three in a row yet.  This includes the World Cup.

From Yahoo! Sports:
Spain have now equaled West Germany's European record from the early 1970s by reaching three consecutive major tournament finals and victory in Kiev on Sunday would make them the first team to win three in a row.

 

[crazyperfectdevil]

Espa?a ol?!

The Spaniards defeated Portugal (and Ronaldo subsequently) 4-2 on penalty kicks, after a scoreless match.  Cesc Fabregas kicked the winner.

Spain has made history winning three major tournaments in a row.

Not bad por les espa?oles!

What three tournaments are those?

My mistake.  Spain has not won three in a row yet.  This includes the World Cup.

From Yahoo! Sports:
Spain have now equaled West Germany's European record from the early 1970s by reaching three consecutive major tournament finals and victory in Kiev on Sunday would make them the first team to win three in a row.

yup there you go ..hasn't won it yet ..though i believe if they do win it all they'll be the first team to win the euro in back to back tournaments?  anyway hopefully Germany will have a say about that

 

[donkeyy0]

Espa?a ol?!

The Spaniards defeated Portugal (and Ronaldo subsequently) 4-2 on penalty kicks, after a scoreless match.  Cesc Fabregas kicked the winner.

Spain has made history winning three major tournaments in a row.

Not bad por les espa?oles!

What three tournaments are those?

My mistake.  Spain has not won three in a row yet.  This includes the World Cup.

From Yahoo! Sports:
Spain have now equaled West Germany's European record from the early 1970s by reaching three consecutive major tournament finals and victory in Kiev on Sunday would make them the first team to win three in a row.

yup there you go ..hasn't won it yet ..though i believe if they do win it all they'll be the first team to win the euro in back to back tournaments?  anyway hopefully Germany will have a say about that

Yes, they will be.

ITALIAAA ITALIIAAAA WOOOOOOOO!

Pretty sure the pk isn't called like 99/100.

Italy looks pretty dominant vs. England and Germany...and played Spain VERY tough without their best player in Pirlo. Obviously they'll be dogs vs. Spain, but I don't mind this matchup. I would've preferred Portugal, way more trash talking among my circle of friends that way.

 

[Beowulf]

Full credit to Italy today, they really surprised me (and the Germans too it seemed) with not only their commitment to a full-on attacking/style but also with their execution; especially in midfield.

Obviously the finishing by Balotelli was clinical, but the setups from midfield were exceptional as well, Pirlo had another standout game among others.

It was very exciting to watch as well, I haven't seen Italy play like that personally since my favourite player of all time Roberto Baggio was on the squad; and even then it seemed it had more to do with his brilliance than with the team's style of play.

It's anyone's final at this point if Italy can duplicate their performance today.

 

[Zee]

What a game by Balotelli. Pirlo and Cassano were good too. Great pass by Cassano on the first goal.

 

[donkeyy0]

Work an 8 hour shift this sunday

 

[Deebo]

To the italian fans in this city, I'm happy for you that your team won, but please stop blocking traffic.