Quick Tactical Note on Switzerland-Czech Republic

The lineups:

Switzerland- (4-4-2) Benaglio, Magnin, Senderos, Muller, Lichtsteiner, Barnetta, Fernandes, Inler, Behrami, Streller, Frei

Czech Republic- (4-1-2-2-1) Cech, Jankulovski, Rozehnal, Ujfalusi, Grygera, Galasek, Polak, Jarolim, Plasik, Sionko, Koller

Not too many surprises here.  The Czechs decide to go with the dinosaur (based on appearance, not age, but the moniker is beginning to apply to both) Koller up front by himself and leave Baros on the bench.  Coach Karel Bruckner is playing this one very conservatively, relying on his mostly Italian-based backline to hold the Swiss scoreless.  

Andy Gray called the Czechs Czechoslovakia, there is some kind of trippy opening ceremony involving cows, marshmallow people, and pixellated art, and we are just about ready to begin.

Group C Preview

Fun Fact: This is far and away the hardest group. Interestingly enough, Romania actually had finished top of its qualifying group ahead of the Netherlands by a full three points. Whoever is quick to write off the Red, Yellow, and Blue (ahem, ESPN's Dominic Raynor, see article here) should seriously consider that coach Victor Piturca's side netted an impressive 26 goals during the qualifying campaign.

The Contenders:

Italy- Ranked 3 in latest FIFA rankings behind Argentina and Brazil.  Winners of FIFA World Cup 2006, Euro 2000 finalists.  A reasonable pick to win it all at the end of the month.

Player to Watch: Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

Midfielder Pirlo, at 29, is a highly experienced field marshall for the Italians, having been capped at the senior national level 46 times since 2002.  He's won the Champions League with AC Milan,  and was an integral part of the World Cup side that downed current group rivals France at WC '06 in penalties, knocking his effort coolly past Gregory Coupet.  Pirlo was named man-of-the-match twice during the tournament in Germany.  In his U-21 days, he captained the Italians to that age group's Euro Championship in 2000.  His pace-setting patience, peripheral vision, and incisive passing will surely provide the Azzurri attack with myriad opportunities going forward.  Be sure to keep an eye out for his free-kick abilities as well, as he's blasted home a couple of stunners this season in Serie A; when striking from distance, he often hits the ball head-on over the defensive wall in a manner similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's, and both achieve this wobbling, dipping trajectory that when destined for target usually fools keepers.

Key Question: How important will the recent training ground injury to former World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid) prove with respect to coach Roberto Donadoni's plans?  Cannavaro is the cornerstone of the Italians' defensive rampart and is usually entrusted with the responsibility of captaining the XI.  Donadoni certainly will have a hard time compensating for this unfortunate loss, and the Italians may very well find themselves conceding goals to the likes of Romania's Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina), France's Karim Benzema (Olimpique Lyonnais) and Thierry Henry (Barcelona), or any of the Netherlands' offensive weapons without Cannavaro's commanding presence in the central defense.  Gennaro "The Bulldog" Gattuso (AC Milan) will have to play even more conservatively in his midfield patrol to cover for what will undoubtedly prove to be a gaping hole in the Italian defense.

Relevant Literary Quotation: "O mihi praeteritos referat si Iuppiter annos!" (If only Jupiter would restore me those bygone years!) -Virgil, The Aeneid

Team Prognostication: 7 points from a possible 9 will put the experienced Italians into the next round.

France- Ranked 7 in the most recent FIFA rankings.  Some recent highlights: Euro 2000 Champions, World Cup 98 Champions, World Cup 2006 Finalists.  A mix of experience (Makelele (Chelsea), Thuram (Barcelona), Anelka (Chelsea), and Henry (Barcelona) have been part of the senior side for years now) and fresh talent (Nasri (Olympique de Marseille/Arsenal), Benzema (Olympique Lyonnais), and Gomis (St. Ettiene) are blossoming) should be a formula for success.

Players to Watch: Franck Ribery (Bayern Munchen) and Thierry Henry

   

 

 

Franck "Franckenstein" Ribery, the former Marseille winger who now offers his services to Bundesliga side Bayern Munich, is an explosive right-footed player sometimes deployed on the left to allow room for devastating runs crossfield.  His dribbling skills are unparalleled on the French team, and his lightning pace and slick play-making prowess are invaluable assets in Les Bleus' offense.  Ribery is also known as a clinical finisher, and he may be heavily relied upon to provide goals if Thierry Henry fails to rise to the occasion for France as he often has in the past.

We frog fans are hoping for an inspired last effort from talismanic striker Henry.  He shone brilliantly for Arsenal, but since his move to Barcelona has become unsettled.  This past campaign in La Liga, a third place finish, was widely considered a massive disappointment for both him personally and Barcelona as a club. Henry has stated that this may be his final major tournament for the F.F.F., so he should be striving to go out with a bang.

Key Question: Will coach Raymond Domenech's absurd selections hinder French progress deep into the tournament? Domenech selected perennial failure Jean-Alain Boumsong (Lyon) even after numerous blunders for club (especially during his tenure at Newcastle United) and country, scrub Francois Clerc (Lyon), and left out David Trezeguet (Juventus) and Djibril Cisse (Marseille).  Soccer writer Paul Marshall wrote a brilliant analysis of Domenech's selections at ESPN's soccernet.  Be sure to check it out here before France play on Monday against Romania.  It will be interesting to see whether the French squad's substitutions and reserves answer successfully when called upon to support what the starting XI have established.  

Relevant Literary Quotation: "Each player must accept the cards life deals him, but once they are in hand, he alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game." -Voltaire

Team Prognostication (Hopeful): France takes a maximum 9 points and wins the tournament.

The Netherlands: Ranked 10 in the latest FIFA rankings.  Euro 2004 Semifinalists. The Oranje traditionally play what is known as "Total Football," a style characterized by smooth movement of the ball from defense through midfield to the forwards, and are often tactically well organized. Touted as potential favorites for most tournaments, it is about time the Netherlands delivered the hammer.

Player to Watch: Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid)

Sneijder is without question one the Netherlands' best players, along with Rafael Van Der Vaart (Hamburg SV), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), and the young Klaas-Jan Huntelaar(Ajax.  He controls the midfield as an efficient attack-minded commanding officer, and possesses among the top dead-ball strikes in the world.  His stellar play for Madrid helped the White and Purple win La Liga's title this past season.  In his debut for Madrid he scored the winning goal against derby rivals Atletico, and followed that spectacular performance with a two-goal outing against eventual second place Villareal.  In 30 appearances for RMCF, Sneijder scored nine goals, while proving his worth in both central and wing roles.  With Ryan Babbel (Liverpool F.C.), club teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy and the just-injured Arjen Robben, van Persie, and Huntelaar his colleagues in the attack, Sneijder has a wonderful opportunity to create chances and finish them off in sweet, free-flowing moves.  Check out this stunner:

Key Question: How long will Robben be out?  Marco Van Basten is surely concerned that Robben has picked up an injury in training and already has ruled out playing in the Oranje's opening match.  The pacy winger has also had a fine season with Real Madrid and his service into the box for the likes of Van Nistelrooy and K-J Huntelaa...aaar.

Relevant Literary Quotation: "For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." -Vincent Van Gogh (he has Oranje hair...ha)

Team Prognostication: A shock loss to Romania will leave Van Basten's side in 3rd place, another disappointing outing.

Romania- Ranked 12 (Woah! ahead of Mexico, Cameroon, Ghana, and Croatia?) in the latest FIFA classifications.  How did that happen?  As mentioned above, the Romanians actually finished ahead of the Dutchmen in the qualifying group; coach Victor Piturca's men shan't be totally ruled out, but will be the least likely team to progress.

Player to Watch: Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)

Mutu led the Romanian squad in scoring during its impressive qualifying campaign with a total of 6 goals.  The former Chelsea striker is well traveled within the Italian Serie A, but has settled in quite nicely for this past season's UEFA cup semifinalists Fiorentina with 33 goals in 62 appearances.  Interestingly, Romania have only lost one game out of  25 in which Mutu has netted at least once.  He is more or less a classic center forward and finishes well in the box and slightly beyond.  His strength, balance, and tenacity have made him one of the premier forwards in Italy this season.  Let's see if he can continue to tap into this rich vein of form in Group C; without him, Dracula and the rest of Romania will lament a lame showing in Austria/Switzerland.

Key Question: Who besides Mutu can contribute a game-changing performance?  Look for Mutu's strike partner Ciprian Marica (Stuttgart), who had five goals in qualifying as the team's second leading scorer, to step it up on the big stage.  Another important source of goals for the Romanians may be set pieces, with beast-man Christian Chivu crashing for headers.

Here's a neat effort from Marica vs. Russia:

Relevant Literary Quotation: "Reality is not simply there, it must be searched out and won." -Paul Celan

Team Prognostication: Last place in the group, but at least one absolute stunner to cherish.

 

Absolute Stunners Lookalike of the Day

Fernando "Zigguito Stardust" Torres arrived in Austria today.  Ground control to Major Luis:  if he plays as tough as he looks, you may need to make some changes.  

Group B Preview: Part 1

Fun fact:  Of the six forwards on the German roster, only two were born in Germany (Odonkor and Gomez) and all six are first generation immigrants.  Of the 23 players on the Austrian roster, all 23 suck.

The Contenders:

Austria- Ranked 92 in the latest FIFA rankings (only one spot behind Mozambique!).  Automatic qualifier (hosts).  Widely considered the worst team to ever participate in the Euro.

Player(s) to Watch:  Trix and Flix

These androgynous chaps serve as mascots for Euro 2008.  Despite their decision to team up to perform in a music video with Shaggy, they are more likely to do anything exciting than anyone on the Austrian roster.  

In all seriousness, their best player is Roland Linz, who plies his trade at Sporting Braga in the perpetual mid-table of the Portuguese Superliga.  He scores a few goals for them, and has seven career goals for his country.  He is described as "much-travelled" and "not bad," which makes him much better than the other Austrians.  

Another Austrian superstar is defender Emanuel Pogatetz, who you may know better as "that guy who gets megged by Cristiano Ronaldo when C-Ron plays against Middlesbrough."

Key Question:  How important is home-field advantage?  Look, even South Korea was able to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup when they hosted in 2002.  Home-field advantage can be massive in major tournaments.  The problem for Austria is that unlike South Korea, the teams it competes against will feel right at home as well.  Unfortunately, they have drawn three geographic near-neighbors in the group stage.  Austria and Germany share a border and Croatia and Poland are separated from Austria by Slovenia and the Czech Republic respectively.  

Will the proud sons of Deutschland be out to support their Mannschaft in Vienna on June 16?  Ja, doch.  

Stripped of their home-field advantage, what do the Austrians have going for them other than some of the most sensible names in the tournament (Jurgen Macho and Andreas Ivanschitz)?  These guys don't stand a strudel's chance in a gondola of advancing beyond the first round.

Relevant Literary Quotation:  "There is hope, but not for us." -Franz Kafka 

(Alternatively, "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."  -Kafka, The Metamorphosis)

Team Prognostication:  0 points, -8 goal differential, gracious hosts.

Croatia- ranked 15th in the latest FIFA rankings.  Beat England twice to win its group and qualify for the Euro.  Somehow passed by Mexico and Cameroon in the last month to move down from 13th.  

Player to Watch:  Luka Modric, Midfielder, Tottenham Hotspur

The 2007 Croatian Player of the year was just signed for a club record 21 million euros by Tottenham.  The Euro will be the 22 year-old's chance to formally introduce himself to the greater European community and show why he was worth the dolla-dolla bills.  The two-footed diminutive midfielder is more of a playmaker, but has shown a well-developed capability to score goals for Dinamo Zagreb, tallying 29 in 98 games for the club.  

Modric's style of play is reminiscent of  Alex Hleb, except he has a touch more pace and a much greater propensity to finish.  He also has a trademark goal celebration where he unleashes a backflip that would make Lomano Tresor Lua Lua proud.  Don't be surprised if Modric does some backflipping across Austria before this tournament is over.  

Key Question:  Who plays up front?  Brazilian-born Eduardo da Silva was the first name on coach Slaven Bilic's team sheet until he went down with a horrific injury for Arsenal this spring.  Now Bilic has to make some tactical decisions about who he deploys up top.  Mladen Petric and Ivica Olic are the natural choices, as they split time along with Dudu throughout qualifying.  However, Bilic may be tempted to change his tactics entirely and play a single forward and a five-man midfield.  

Goals should not be hard to come by for this Croatian team.  Petric and Olic are proven goal scorers, if not transcendent superstars.  Modric and Niko Kranjcar (see earlier profile) are two of Europe's up-and-coming studs who are able to score goals as well.  Midfielder Niko Kovac and his brother, defender Robert Kovac, represent the Croatian old guard and are serious aerial threats.  The question is not if Croatia can score, but if they can find a reliable goal-scorer.  All of these players are first quality, but Croatia will need someone to shoulder the goal scoring load to proceed to the semi-finals and beyond.  

Hrvatska is probably the most underrated team going into this tournament.  Though they beat out England in qualifying, most soccer analysts would be loathe to mention them in the same breath as Germany, Portugal, France, Holland, and Spain as possible contenders to win the Euro.  I think they belong in that group.  Strong in the back and with creative attacking verve, Croatia are for real.  

Relevant Literary Quotation:  "Mila kura si planina." -Tony Henry, British singer attempting to sing the Croatian national anthem at a Euro qualifier (translation:  "My dear, my penis is a mountain.")

Team Prognostication:  6 points, good for second place and qualification to the knockout stage.

ASotD: Nakazawa vs. Oman (WC 2010 Qualifier)

An audacious diving header from Nakazawa is only the beginning of Oman's misery as Japan go on to win 3-0.

ASotD 6/3: Petr Sykora

OK, so this may be slightly off-topic, but it is a Czech finding the upper corner from distance with a screamer.  Incredible stuff, Sykora tells the sideline reporter he is going to score and then lives up to his word in triple overtime.  I'd still rather have watched yesterday's China-Qatar thrilling nil-nil World Cup qualifier.

Group D Preview

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.

The combatants:

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