Euro 2008 review

Overall, I thought Euro 2008 was a reasonably good tournament. Some good goals, lots of enterprising team play. It was a tournament where midfielders & forwards shone. The midfielders who have shone include Spain's Xavi & David Silva, Sneijder of the Netherlands, Russia's Arshavin, Croatia's playmaker Modric, Turkey's young Arda, Germany's Michael Ballack & Deco of Portugal. The forwards who caught the eye include Germany's Podolski,Spain's David Villa & Russia's Pavlyuchenko. (have I missed anyone?)

However, the defending in the tournament has not been that great. For me, the tournament did not produce any outstanding defenders. At the 2006 World Cup, Italy's Fabio Cannavaro was the stand-out defender. Euro 2008? Nobody. I don't think there's any defender at the moment who is at the same level as Cannavaro 2 years ago.

Ok, I've already posted about the teams that contested the Euro final, Spain & Germany. Here are my thoughts of the other 14 teams:

Russia:

This is surely the best Russian side since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Russia did extremely well to reach the Euro semis, considering the heavy defeat in the opening group match against Spain. In their next 2 group matches, Russia improved & showed what they can do when they get the basics right. Their tournament highlight was surely their superb quarter-final performance showing which eliminated the highly fancied Dutch outfit. The Spaniards again proved too strong in the semi-final, where Russia simply could not repeat their quarter-final showing & succumbed to second-half strikes. Still, the Russians can be proud of their Euro campaign. Much credit should go to Dutch coach Guus Hiddink for his wonderful work with the Russian players. With him continuing at the helm, expect Russia to be a force in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Turkey:

Like Russia, Turkey had a memorable campaign. Few would have backed them to progress after their opening loss to Portugal. Yet the Turks would show "never say die" in their subsequent matches, to beat the Swiss (from 1 goal behind) & the Czechs (from 2 goals behind) to get past the group stage. Then, they eliminated Croatia on penalty shoot-out in a remarkable quarter-final. The game was goalless until the last 2 minutes of extra-time, Croatia scored with 1 minute of extra-time left, only for Turkey to incredibly equalise in the very last minute of extra-time to make it 1-1 to take the match to penalties. But by the time they played Germany in the semis, Turkey's squad had been ravaged by injuries & suspensions. So Turkey could not stage another comeback win, but they lost with honour. Sure, the Turks may have had some luck in the tournament. But considering their hard work & injury list, they earned their fortune, & Turkey's talent & ability cannot be questioned.

Netherlands:

Many thought the Dutch would go all the way, especially after sweeping aside all their group rivals. And it's not just that they won all 3 group matches, it's the stylish & devastating manner of those victory that led many to predict the Netherlands as winners. Yes, they seemed unstoppable. But it all came unstuck in the quarter-final, where the Dutch were well-beaten by Russia. It was probably a combination of a few things that led to the Dutch demise: a "bad day in the office" (the Dutch didn't or couldn't reproduce their group stage performances), the insider knowledge of the Dutch team by Russia's Dutch coach Hiddink, & the ability, fitness & motivation of the Russian side. The relatively premature exit was probably not what coach Van Basten had hoped for, as he leaves the Netherlands coaching job to coach Ajax Amsterdam. Nevertheless, Van Basten leaves the Dutch team in a good shape, & it is hoped that Dutch fans would find the tournament satisfactory overall.

Portugal:

Like the Dutch, Portugal would feel they exit the tournament too early. It's such a shame, given their impressive form in the first 2 games. But coach Scolari made wholesale changes for the final group game against the already eliminated Swiss. That was probably a bad move - Portugal not only lost that match, they also lost much of the momentum gathered from the first 2 games. They never really recovered thereafter, & came unstuck in the quarter-final against Germany. That in itself is no disgrace, especially considering that Germany produced their best performance in the tournament against Portugal. But I get the feeling that many Portuguese fans would feel that their team could have achieved much more. The loss against the Germans showed that Portugal's defence was not as strong as previously thought. And once again, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to have "gone missing" just when his country needed him to step up. Such a shame....

Croatia:

Croatia are probably one of the unluckiest team in the tournament. They won all 3 group games, generally showing impressive form & some splendid passing football. Then in the quarter-final against Turkey, they opened the scoring near the end of the second-half of extra time. You would have thought that would be it, but the Turks managed to equalise just before extra-time finished! So off it went to the penalty shoot-out. Given the circumstances, it was understandable that the Croatians lost the shootout - they would not have been in a state to take the penalties after the shock of conceding that "later than late" equaliser. Narrowly missing out on the semi-final should not take anything away from the good work of the Croatian coach (Slaven Bilic) & the footballers. Their midfield in particular is very talented & creative, especially the playmaker Luka Modric. Croatia are a side well worth keeping an eye on.

Italy:

Italy had a disappointing tournament. They did show some flashes of decent football, but only in patches - nowhere near enough for world champions. The Italians never really got going after being demolished 3-0 in their opening game against the Netherlands. They recovered enough in their next 2 group games against Romania & France to get to the quarter-final, although that was because the Romanians & the French in particular were even less inspiring. They were ousted by Spain in the quarter-final via the penalty shoot-out, though in truth Spain should have won the tie without the shootout. Italy would not have deserved to have gone any further. They missed Cannavaro in defense. The midfield was ok, even if lacking creativity at times. But their forwards misfired badly, especially the normally dangerous Luca Toni. As expected, the coach Donadoni has already been sacked - failure to reach the semi-final is not tolerable, even if their Spanish conquerors would prove to be the eventual tournament winners.

Czech Republic:

The Czechs had a mixed campaign, perhaps a little disappointing. They started well enough, with a fortunate win over the Swiss co-hosts. Then they were well beaten by Portugal. In the last group game against Turkey, they let slip a 2 goal lead to lose 3-2, & that featured a goalkeeper blunder by Petr Cech that gifted the Turks the equaliser. Cruel & unlucky, perhaps. But the truth is the current Czech Republic side are not as good as the one that reached the Euro 2004 semi-final. Indeed, the Czechs appear to be in decline since 2004 - they didn't get past the group stage in the 2006 World Cup, & the same has happened at Euro 2008. Perhaps it's time to bid farewell to some of the veterans, & bring in the star players from the Czech youth team that reached last year's World Youth Cup final.

Romania:

Quite simply, Romania was uninspiring. True, they didn't really disgrace themselves. True, they achieved honourable draws against France & Italy. And true, they didn't finish last in the Group of Death. But the Romanians were overly cautious in all their group matches, even in the must-win final game against the Dutch (which they ended up losing). Consequently, they paid the price for their excessive negativity. They can look back with regret on the last-minute penalty miss by Mutu against the Italians. But they really have no one to blame but themselves for not taking a more adventurous approach. Romania may no longer be blessed with the playmaking genius of the great Gheorghe Hagi, but still they definitely have enough talent to have warranted more positive displays than what we saw at Euro 2008.

France:

The French were very disappointing, to put it mildly. In fact, probably the biggest letdown of the tournament. Not just because of their results (they failed to win a single match). But also because of the way they played. France were simply abject. First, a goalless draw against Romania, where more was expected of France. Then shockingly, they were massacred 4-1 by the Dutch. They then lost to Italy in their last match to complete a miserable campaign. The coach Domenech should get most of the blame. He made questionable squad selections (no Mexes, no Flamini were just some of the blunders) & employed tactics which did not made effective use of the squad he picked. Quite simply, Domenech is not the man to coach France. The fact that Zidane no longer plays is no excuse, for France is blessed with more than enough talented players to have done far better than they did. The problem was the coach - he left out some of those talents for the tournament, & made such sparing use of the ones that he did pick. What a terrible waste.

Sweden:

The failure of Sweden to reach the knockout stages is not surprising. Their squad is full of players past their best. They simply have to rejuvenate their squad with younger faces. To be fair, Sweden started the tournament well enough with a 2-0 win against the defending champions Greece. But that has to be tempered with the realisation that the Greeks were woeful. Spain & Russia would prove far superior in the next 2 group matches, & so the Swedes head home early. Part of the problem lies in the fact that Sweden seem to over-rely on their talented forwards, Ibrahimovic & the ageless Henrik Larsson. But they were hampered by overcautious tactics employed by the coach Lagerback. And their midfield was not good enough to support the forwards adequately, although that be partly due to those overcautious tactics. Yes, Sweden lost to 2 teams who went far (in Spain's case, all the way). But that should not obscure the fact that the squad needs to start afresh. And badly, too.

Greece:

Played 3, lost 3, only 1 goal scored. That is Greece's record at Euro 2008; a stark contrast to their surprise triumph at Euro 2004. This is probably the worst attempt at defending a title by a defending champion at an international tournament. The Greeks adopted the same unadventurous, defensive, "grab a goal & defend to death" approach as they did 4 years ago. This time round, the results were very different, because the element of surprise (which worked 4 years ago) is gone. Their group opponents all knew what to expect. Not many people believed Greece would get past the group stage this time. It's almost as if Greece were greatly subdued by the low expectations. Given their uninspiring play, few neutrals would have been saddened by their early flight back to Athens. Despite that, German coach Otto Rehhagel will remain in charge. He will have to introduce new ideas & make a fresh start.

Poland:

Once again, Poland crashed out in the group stage of an international tournament, just as they did in the last 2 World Cups. Stage fright? Maybe. This was their first appearance at the European championships. And it wasn't a tournament to remember for the Polish fans. The Poles just couldn't reproduce the form they showed in the Euro qualifying series. They were tame in all 3 group matches, & for many periods, were outplayed by their opponents. Poland suffered losses against Germany & Croatia. Sandwiched between those matches was a draw against Austria in a match that Poland should have lost, but could have won but for a late Austrian penalty. Poland's displays were often pedestrian & they never really tested their opponents or pose much of a threat. Perhaps Poland have not improved sufficiently under the Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker. He has stepped down, & whoever takes over will have a lot of work to do.

Austria:

No expectations, no disappointments. Actually, in Austria's case, expectations from their fans were very low. So the expected failure of the Austrian team to reach the knockout stages would not have surprised many, & the Austrian fans would not have been too disappointed. Not that they should, given the commitment, spirit & hard work of Austria's footballers. Like Poland, Austria lost the matches against Croatia & Germany, but Austria provided sterner resistance than the Poles offered. Against Croatia, Austria conceded an early goal, but rallied strongly to ensure that no further goals were conceded, though they couldn't get an equaliser. The Austrians should really have beaten Poland, but were denied by bad misses & Poland's goalkeeper, & so needed a late penalty to get a draw. That left them heading into the last game needing to beat big cousins Germany to advance to the knockout stages. But the Germans proved too strong. While Austria lacked the quality to trouble the top sides, they were certainly not as bad as many had expected. They really need to find at least 1 top quality forward, & sooner rather than later.

Switzerland:

Like fellow co-hosts Austria, Switzerland crashed out during the group stages. However, more was expected from Switzerland, given their reasonable showing at the 2006 World Cup. The truth is, the Swiss were unlucky at Euro 2008. They suffered a blow then their captain & forward Alex Frei was injured in the first half of the tournament's opening match against Czech Republic. Frei would be ruled out of the tournament, & everything went downhill. The Swiss ended up losing to the Czechs, somewhat unluckily as they were generally the better side in the match. They were also unfortunate to lose the next match, against Turkey, after having gone a goal up & having chances to extend their lead. That made Switzerland the first team to be eliminated from the tournament. Their win against Portugal in the last group match proved academic to both sides (Portugal had already qualified by then). But at least it was a good way to farewell the outgoing coach Kobi Kuhn.