Fun Fact: Group D is the only group whose members' languages use three different alphabets. Brush up on your cyrillic characters and join me as I preview the final group of Euro 2008.
Greece- The holders! 8th in the latest FIFA rankings. Greece have to be considered favorites to go through based on the numbers.
Player to Watch: Antonis Nikopolidis, Goalie, Olympiacos.
Old man river just keeps on rolling. Nikopolidis is old--he turned 37 in January--but he looks positively elderly. His work in net was vital to Greece's Euro 2004 victory. Is the Ancient Greek still capable of carrying Hellas upon his shoulders or has arthritis set in? Greece has a very capable backup in Kostas Chalkias, but Nikopolodis' performance will be key to Greece's Euro 2008 performance.
Key Question: Can they score? Goumas, Dellas, Kyrgiakos, Seitaridis, et al. are class defenders. The goalkeeping should be competent at least. Karagounis, Giannokoupolos, and
Katsouranis are all very capable defensive-minded midfielders. Defensively, Greece is as sound as anyone in this tournament, with the possible sole exception of Italy.
Up front, Greece appears to be lacking. Angelos Charisteas, offensive star of Euro 2004, has done little since then. Regardless, he is still capable of climbing the ladder and finishing with his head. He is severely lacking in any sort of on-ball skill or creativity.
Georgios Samaras was the face of mediocrity at Manchester City and now plies his trade at Celtic. Still mediocre.
Fanis Gekas had a hat trick against Malta. Unfortunately for him the Maltans failed to qualify. Gekas is a capable scorer in the Bundesliga, but his finest attribute is scoring against incompetent defenses (see Malta) and there just aren't many of those in Euro 2008.
Relevant Literary Quotation: "It is not possible to fight beyond your strength, even if you strive." -Homer, The Iliad
Team Prognostication: 2 goals and 3 points in 3 games earns them third place in the group and an early flight back to the Hellespont.
Russia- 25th in the latest FIFA rankings. Russia are the youngest team in the tournament, with an average age of just over 26.
Player(s) to Watch- The Brothers Berezutski, defenders, CSKA Moskva.
Bond Villains! The Berezutski twins (Vasili is on the left, Alexei on the right) crack heads for the old Soviet military side domestically (which now features green-haired Brazilians) and look to take their brand of heavy-handed skullduggery to their international stage. These two KGB assassins have already eliminated her majesty's finest footballers in qualifying, so Greece and Sweden don't exactly intimidate them. They also think Gorbachev was a pussy for pursuing glasnost and
perestroika.*
Key Question: How good is the Russian Premier League? Zenit St. Petersburg shocked a lot of people by winning this year's UEFA cup. The Russian domestic game just isn't as highly regarded as the major Western European leagues, but their European success in the last few years has been nearly on par with France, Portugal, and Scotland. Almost the entire roster
plays in Russia. Will they be able to compete with the players from more "major" leagues?
The Russian player I am most familiar with is Alexander Kerzhakov, forward from Sevilla. He was a key piece of their 2007 UEFA cup winning team and a quite talented forward. Russia coach Guus Hiddink didn't even think Kerzhakov was in their top 25. If this Russian team truly has 25 players that are more talented than Kerzhakov, the rest of Europe could be in for quite a surprise. Alternatively, Hiddink may just be making an awful selection error.
Relevant Literary Quotation: "You will die - and it will be all be over." Tolstoy, War and Peace
Team Prognostication: 1 point and last place in Group D.
Spain- 4th in the latest FIFA rankings. Spain are unbeaten in their last 15 matches. Considered among the favorites to win the whole tournament.
Player to Watch: Marcos Senna, holding midfielder, Villareal.
Sure, you might have expected to see one of Spain's name brand stars here, but the most important player for Spain in this tournament won't be Fabregas, Torres, Villa, Iniesta, Xavi or Xabi Alonso (though, holy bacalao, that is quite a list). The key will be 31 year-old Brazilian born midfielder Senna and his role in shutting down Europe's premier attacks. Aragones has 4 of the world's top 20 attack-minded midfielders on his roster in Fabregas, Iniesta, Xavi, and Xabi Alonso, but he will have to resist the temptation to play all these guys together, and
instead rely on the more workmanlike Senna as his fourth midfielder. Which of these four sits is up to Aragones. To be honest, I am not sure it matters (though it would be a crime to sit Cesc). To be successful, you need to have at least one guy in the midfield dedicated primarily to ball-winning and defensive duties. Italy has Gattuso, France has Viera and Makelele, Germany has Frings, Portugal has Petit, etc. Spain is the only team that at times tries to go without this sort of player, counting on its creative little guys to control the midfield. The enforcer, Senna, needs to be on the field and in his top form. If he is, Spain could be considered favorites to win the Euro.
Oh and also, he scored one of the absolute stunners of the season:
Key Question: Can Spain finally win the big one? The Spanish national team has only one major tournament in their history--the 1964 Euro which they hosted. Pundits pick Spain to
win at every tournament, but they are always wrong. Spain often starts strong before blowing it in the latter stages. Look at World Cup 2006: Spain looked the best in the tournament after the group stage, with 8 goals scored versus just a single goal conceded. However, the round of 16 saw Spain crash out against France. There appears to be little doubt that Spain will progress from this group, but many experts also give them no chance to win against Europe's finest in the knockout stage.
La Furia Roja come into Euro 2008 with their strongest squad in years. Their attack just narrowly edges out Portugal for the most dangerous in the tournament. Goalie Iker Casillas ranks with Italy's Buffon and the Czech's Cech as the finest in Europe. The defense is highly capable as well, though not as highly ranked as the team's other components. Now is the time for Spain to finally break through and win the big one.
Relevant Literary Quotation: "Can we ever have too much of a good thing?" -Cervantes, Don Quixote
Team Prognostication: 7 points and a group D victory
Sweden- 23rd in the latest FIFA rankings. Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, SVENSKA!
Player to Watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, forward, Internazionale Milano.
Don't mess with the Zlatan. The horse-faced (note: horse-faced is a co-registered trademark of Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldinho Gaucho) Swedish striker scored 17 in only 26 games for Inter this season. Mr. Z is usually the best player on the pitch, regardless of opposition. He is also the winner of the 2007 guldbollen, awarded to the Swedish player of the year. Ibrahimovic scored the goal of the 2004 Euro tournament, somehow chipping Gigi Buffon off a volley with his back to goal.
Despite his prodigious talents, Zlatan can be moody, is oft injured, and can serve as a serious distraction to his teammates. At a 2006 qualifier for the Euro away at Liechtenstein, he, Christian Wilhelmsson, and Olof Mellberg were caught violating curfew at a nightclub. Rather than apologize and accept coach Lars Lagerback's one game suspension (as the other two did), Ibrahimovic decided to pout and skip the next four Sweden games. Were he any old mortal, he would probably be banished from international play, but he is Zlatan, so coach Lagerback had no choice to take him back.
For Sweden to succeed at Euro 2008, Zlatan will need to play like Zlatan for his country. He hasn't scored for Sweden since October 2005, so he will need to find his form again in blue and yellow.
Key Question: Are they too old? Undoubtedly Freddie Ljungberg and Henrik Larsson are two of the best players of the last decade. They are both also unquestionably past their respective primes and some have suggested that they be taken out to pasture internationally. Both bring a considerable level of experience at a tournament of this magnitude, such that the pressure of a potential elimination match on the 18th of June against Russia might not faze them in the same way it might the younger Russians. The Swedes also have a number of stars still in their prime, such as Kim Kallstrom and Johan Elmander, both familiar names to fans of Ligue 1.
At big tournaments, fortune often favors the experienced (see France, Italy, World Cup 2006). Euro 2008 could be the last international appearance for both Ljungberg and Larsson, so their will to succeed will be great. Additionally, neither player has played such an exhausting domestic season that has worn down many of their potential opponents. Ljungberg has made 25 appearances this season, many of them as a reserve. Larsson has only played 9 games in all of 2008, so he should be particularly fresh for the Euro. In contrast, Cesc Fabregas has played in 99 games for Arsenal over the last two years. The old folks for Sweden should have that spring back in their step for the month of June.
Relevant Literary Quotation: "The spectacles of experience; through them you will see clearly a second time." -Henrik Ibsen (note: Ibsen is not actually Swedish, but Norwegian, but I will assume Ibsen would be glad to support his Scandinavian brethren.)
Team Prognostication: 4 points, 2nd place in group D, after defeating Russia while Greece loses to Spain on the final day of the group stage.
*Unverified
1 comment:
so this is the apology for having zero posts yesterday. i accept, good doctor.
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