With an amazing tournament full of excitement and surprises coming to an end, Sportable previews the UEFA EURO 2008 Final between Germany and Spain.

How they got here:

Germany:

Group stage: W 2-0 v Poland, L 1-2 v Croatia, W 1-0 v Austria (6 points, 2^nd place)

Quarterfinal: W 3-2 v Portugal

Semifinal: W 3-2 v Turkey

Spain:

Group stage: W 4-1 v Russia, W 2-1 v Sweden, W 2-1 v Greece (9 points, 1^st place)

Quarterfinal: D 0-0 v Italy; won penalty shootout 4-2

Semifinal: W 3-0 v Russia

Tactics:

Germany:
Since the quarterfinal against Portugal, Germany has fielded a 4-2-3-1 with Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger at the wings, two defensive midfielders in Thomas Hitzlsperger and Simon Rolfes, and captain Michael Ballack as the CAM. It is likely, however, that Torsten Frings will replace either Rolfes or Hitzlsberger for the final. Miroslav Klose has been leading the line as a lone striker. Joachim Lowe also went back to the 2006 World Cup backline after Marcell Jansen’s ineffective performances, moving Turkey killer Philipp Lahm back to LB and bringing back Arne Friedrich. As a result, Germany has been more industrious in midfield and is much more offensive minded with six goals in two matches. The concern is the four goals that they have conceded since the quarters. Only the second Turkish goal can be attributed to Jens Lehmann being crazy Jens. Against a Spanish side that looked great against an offensive-minded Russia, Germany must be watertight at the back.

Spain:
Obviously the big question is whether Spain will have Valencia forward and EURO 2008 top scorer David Villa. With him, they play a 4-4-2 with Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena and Joan Capdivela at the back, Marcos Senna as the holding midfielder, Xavi as the playmaker, Andres Iniesta playing in an adaptive role at right winger, David Silva at left winger, and Villa and Fernando Torres up front. However, it is unlikely that Villa will be fit, as team doctor Jesus Jimenez says that the mercurial striker has a small tear in the back of right thigh that would ordinarily take 7-10 days to heal. If that is the case, then Cesc Fabregas will deputize as he did to maximum effect against Russia. Spain coach Luis Aragones’ preferred formation is 4-5-1, and with Fabregas’ man of the match display, he will not hesitate to deploy him against the Germans. Spain plays a slick passing game that they can either use at a slow build-up pace or a fast attacking style. With Xavi and Fabregas in the lineup, their passing and ball control is even more clinical and will be the key to holding possession. The Spanish defense has been dogged by questions, but it has managed to keep two clean sheets. Of course, a lot of the credit has to go to the captain Iker Casillas. Read the rest of this entry »

Being state-side for Euro 2008 has allowed me to watch almost every game of the tournament up to this point, and while some things have played out as expected, there have been a few surprises and I have decided to offer some of my thoughts on the tournament below.

• Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth do an excellent job as commentators. They are among the best announcing duos I have heard for any sport, and the fact that they are doing it from a studio in Bristol rather than overseas makes it all the more impressive.
• Tommy Smyth needs to work a little more on his work as a studio analyst between games, he tends to talk over Julie Foudy and cut her off before her points are done.
• The Italians desperately miss the leadership of Fabio Cannavaro at the back, and their defense has looked very susceptible in the tournament because of his absence.
• The Italians are also a much better team with Alessandro Del Piero in, hopefully they note this for their final game against France.
• France looks very weak. They miss Zinedine Zidane desperately and missing Thierry Henry for the first game they looked utterly lost. This team is at a turning point where they have lost their leader for the past decade plus in Zidane, and with Henry aging they need someone to step up and take command of this team for the next few years. All eyes are on Franck Ribery, and all eyes are horrified by the sight.
• The Dutch are for real. They’re playing out of their mind right now, and are here for only one reason and that is to take home the cup. They’re playing for all of their veterans who are in their last tournament, and they are simply outplaying everyone.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the UEFA EURO 2008 tournament from Austria-Switzerland just hours away, the Sportable staff will bring you team previews leading up to the opening match. Group by group, we will discuss team rosters, flaws. and chances of being crowned European Champions.

Group D Matches:
June 10th: vs. Sweden (Wals Siezenheim Stadium, Salzburg)
June 14th: vs. Russia (Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)
June 18th: vs. Spain (Wals Siezenheim Stadium, Salzburg)

Can They Do it Again?
It was something out of Hollywood. Greece started EURO 2004 with a bang, humiliating host Portugal in one of the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history. As if that wasn’t enough, they did it again just a couple of weeks later, knocking off the Portugese again to win EURO 2004 as 150-1 underdogs. This time around, the cast of characters are largely the same, starting with coach Otto Rehhagel. But with a target on their back, can the Greeks prove EURO 2004 wasn’t a fluke? Read the rest of this entry »

With the UEFA EURO 2008 tournament from Austria-Switzerland just hours away, the Sportable staff will bring you team previews leading up to the opening match. Group by group, we will discuss team rosters, flaws. and chances of being crowned European Champions.

Group D Matches:
June 10th: vs. Spain (Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)
June 14th: vs. Greece (Wals Siezenheim Stadium, Salzburg)
June 18th: vs. Sweden (Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)

Can Guus’ Magic Give EURO a Red Scare?
After failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, Russia needed a change. So, they thought to themselves: What better coach to rebuild our national team than Guus Hiddink, a man who has made a living off of it? After hugely successful stints with the Netherlands, South Korea and Australia, Hiddink’s goal was simple: Get Russia back into relevance. By qualifying ahead of England, he’s done just that. Read the rest of this entry »

With the UEFA EURO 2008 tournament from Austria-Switzerland just days away, the Sportable staff will bring you team previews leading up to the opening match. Group by group, we will discuss team rosters, flaws. and chances of being crowned European Champions.

Group D Matches:
June 10th: vs. Russia (Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)
June 14th: vs. Sweden (Tivoli-Neu Stadion, Innsbruck)
June 18th: vs. Greece (Wals Siezenheim Stadium, Salzburg)

Will They Finally Stop Underachieving?
It is one of the biggest puzzles in world soccer: Why in the world have Spain consistently failed in international tournaments? With arguably the deepest domestic league in the world, the consistent disappointment of Spain’s national team is one of soccer’s biggest mysteries. Time and time again, they have shown up to the World Cup and European Championships with loaded rosters…and time and time again, they’ve let everybody down. For EURO 2008, the script remains the same. Can La Furia Roja hoist their first major trophy since winning EURO ‘64?

Read the rest of this entry »

With the UEFA EURO 2008 tournament from Austria-Switzerland just days away, the Sportable staff will bring you team previews leading up to the opening match. Group by group, we will discuss team rosters, flaws. and chances of being crowned European Champions.

Group C Matches:
June 9th: vs. Romania (Letzigrund Stadium-Zurich)
June 13th: vs. Netherlands (Stade de Suisse Wankdorf-Bern)
June 17th: vs. Italy (Letzigrund Stadium-Zurich)

Les Bleus is Loaded, Even Without Zidane
For France, EURO 2008 marks the true beginning of a new era in French soccer. Gone is superstar Zinedine Zidane, with his truly legendary playmaking ability and even more infamous cranium. But don’t pity the French; they’re too arrogant to deserve any pity and they’re too talented to feel sorry for. Even without Zizzou, France was able to emerge from the EURO 2008 Qualifying Group of Death. Their reward? Another Group of Death and rematch with Italy.

Read the rest of this entry »