Euro 2008 official thread !

[Donney]

Then they'll probably loose.

[leopard]

They may play a dark horse, everything just roll off of their shoulders, playing the game naturally, and win, and win. :)

[pino]

It certainly didn't take too long for the Italians. :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2008/italy/7471598.stm

Or is BBC just betting on certainties? :)

Lippi (as new coach) will be announced on friday :up:

[jens]

Almost half of the match went missing due to some kind of TV problems (rainstorms in Basel or something like that) and as it was said, other countries didn't see the match either. But the end result is very satisfying! :D But a huge respect to Turkey anyway! :up: They have made it into semifinals in two big tournaments in this Millenium and this is no coincidence - they are a very capable team. Germany may have seemed slightly struggling as much as it could be seen, but I think Germany's strength has come out again - they are very good at making most of their opportunities and they don't need to dominate for winning. The same case has often been with Italy.

In tomorrow's game I think Spain must do its best to clarify things in normal time. Russian players seem to have very good endurance and in overtime they might be in a beneficial situation.

[Storm]

Power outage in the stadium or so our presenter said....
Great game of football...especially for a semi-final

Germany were too strong in the end but you have to hand it to Turkey...tremendous effort and fighting spirit shown by them :up:
They dominated till their first goal in 22' after that it was a see-saw match and most of the 2nd half goals were missed due to the broadcast problem

Hopefully a good 2nd SF as well and Spain do well (atleast fight!)
Fuerza la selección!

[gadjo_dilo]

I'm so sorry for the turks, as they controlled the game but the germans were more efficient, as usual.
I love Fatih Terim, he's a great coach.

Now I'm waiting for "Zbornaia"' s win tonight

[Sarah]

A storm and power cut in Vienna caused the problems.

[jim mcglinchey]

The commmentators seemed to think that the first half was pretty well matched, but I think Spain were all over Russia.

[jens]

Yeha! Spain! Superb! :D It has taken some long waiting to see them finally unveiling their undoubted enormous potential at a big tournament and they have finally done it! It also looks like Spain hasn't had too much pressure this time, which could also be seen in penalty shootout against Italy, which is the ultimate test of psychology. Germany-Spain pairing can be called almost as an ideal final for me.

But Russia deserves some praise too, generally they had a good tournament and only one team turned out to be too strong for them for twice. Russia has shown several strengths in these Euro champs. They have also some weaknesses, one of them being a typical "Russian problem" - inconsistency and if a game really doesn't seem to go in their way, then instead of finding a solution, their performance collapses. Considering the population of Russia and the football fanatism there I have always thought they have enormous potential and quite obvious unsuccess so far has been a bit mystical. That mass of talent needs some good guidance (which they have now) and if they can smoothen their rough edges, they might be a very capable team at the 2010 World champs.

[Storm]

Viva España ! :D

Looks like the few of us who voted for Spain at the start are going to be proved correct...even though Villa isn't available which might turn to be a blessing actually....Torres will take more responsibilty and Fabregas has been excellent whenever he has come on as a sub , especially yesterday against Russia. After Xavi scored, it seemed Russia was suddenly deflated...no challenges on midfield and not many attacks either...Senna, Xavi, Silva and Cesc just controlled the ball easily and they added 2 more goals as well.

Still well done to Russia and we are looking forward to what they can do in South Africa (surely they will reach there with Hiddink still around!)

Germany v Spain
On current form though I think Spain has its best chance to win the trophy, Germany are very tough but they are susceptible on the counter-attack which Spain are showing to be masters at.

[pino]

Bravo España :up: that was another amazing performance. Now Germany and if Spain play as they can they will easily win the title as I predicted before the tournement started ;)

[jim mcglinchey]

Was that the same team that easily overcame Holland? Spain were fantastic but maybe the spirit of Franco lives on. " Take a dive in the semi ..!"

[AndyRAC]

After all the pre-match hype over Arshavin - where did he go? As good as he is, I think people got carried away with his performances. I mean. he's no newcomer, he's 27 and been around for a while.

[gadjo_dilo]

After all the pre-match hype over Arshavin - where did he go? As good as he is, I think people got carried away with his performances. I mean. he's no newcomer, he's 27 and been around for a while.
Do you mean he should have been already famous if he had been so good?
I think none of us have a good knowledge of the russian league.

He's a great player. The kind of player that can make the difference on the pitch. Yesterday he had a bad day which may happen to any player. Unfortunately without him Russia don't play anything.

[AndyRAC]

I've actually heard of Arshavin before, though I'm a bigger fan of Pogrebnyak - now he is quality.

[Sarah]

The Spanish midfield have been excellent all tournament but I thought they played better when Cesc came on but it does mean they have to push forward to support Torres and I don't know if that might catch them out.

We have not seen the best of the Germans yet their defence in particular has been poor.

[Miika]

German defence has been as good as it can be with that material. And how they played in the semifinal, well they were lucky they were playing against Turkey´s C-team instead of someone with their best line-up. Spain for the win, please.

[pino]

..... I still consider Spain one of the favourite for the win though ;)

I was right so...come on Spain :up: don't let me down just now :hmph:

[janneppi]

good game, altough I did kind of root for Germany.
Spain was the best team in the tournament, no doubt about that.

[wacked]

amazing game.. loved it, torres played real well throughout.. spain deserve to win.. damn happy they won too..

[Josti]

Not the best final I've seen, but Spain played it very well and controled. The deserved winners of Euro 2008. Overall, played the best games and yes, together with Holland, the most attractive playing in the group stages and for them so on.

[Rollo]

good game, altough I did kind of root for Germany.


You're a keen supporter aren't you? :D

[Storm]

España ! :up: :D

Felicidades a todos los españoles!

Its been a very long time for the Spanish fans and I am really happy this tournament ended with the right winner.

Great game, great championship too.

[Drew]

I'm so happy Spain won! Although upset that I'm now in the UK :p :

Spain certainly deserved to win the match :) Don't they do the 3rd / 4th playoff anymore?

[jens]

Well... Spain seemed the bigger favourite before the game and so it went. Spaniards seemed a little nervous in the first minutes, but then found their rhythm. Germany had some attacking periods (for example around 60th minute, when they 'endangered' the goal for 4 times in a short period), but they couldn't keep such mode consistently.

But congrats to Spain! :up: After a long period with little success they have finally achieved something great, which compensates the previous failures.

[veeten]

Where's Donney? :)

He's porbably over the moon right now. :D

[donKey jote]

:bananas: :bananas: :bananas: :bananas:

Hi guys :wave:

I'm just back from 16 days in Vienna :D

did I enjoy singing "campeones" amongst 50 German work colleagues ! :s mokin:

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_3_166.gif

[veeten]

Happy donKey! :D :bounce:

[ioan]

I'm just back from 16 days in Vienna :D

did I enjoy singing "campeones" amongst 50 German work colleagues ! :s mokin:

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_3_166.gif

Man if only I knew you were here, we could have met one of these days! :(

Anyways : Viva Espana! :up:

[ShiftingGears]

I vote Spain.

[MrJan]

I vote Spain.

No chance, England have got it in the bag ;)

[stevie_gerrard]

i happened to pick Spain at the start of this tournament, and bet on them :D Chuffed to get it right, especially considering i was in the touristic town of Cala D'Or, Mallorca on Sunday Night for the final and the place went absolutely wild, fans cheering and traffic jams forming and "QUE VIVA ESPANA!!"" sang at every available opportunity :D nothing beats the atmosphere that night. As for the German tourists, they disappeared hastily :p :