Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Probably not many interested, but Euro 2012 starts on Friday. If I were a betting man I'd put my last Euro on Spain. The Germans and Italians will be in contention for the title, as usual. The Croatians are well coached and could make some noise and Portugal has one of the best footballers in Christiano Ronaldo, but I expect he will wilt under the pressure, as usual. Anybody have any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristian Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 I think Spain will underachieve - Their FC Barcelona core have seemed tired and complacent from winning both the Euro championships in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, AND Champions League and La Primera (with Barcelona) through the past 3 seasons. That's a lot of soccer played for a prolonged period of time for some key players, like Xavi and Iniesta. Italy have been rocked by yet another match fixing scandal, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them out before the knock-out stages, but with Italy you never know. I think Holland are going to take this one - They finished 2nd in the 2010 World Cup, and seem a lot hungrier than Spain these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 I think Spain will underachieve - Their FC Barcelona core have seemed tired and complacent from winning both the Euro championships in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, AND Champions League and La Primera (with Barcelona) through the past 3 seasons. That's a lot of soccer played for a prolonged period of time for some key players, like Xavi and Iniesta. Italy have been rocked by yet another match fixing scandal, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them out before the knock-out stages, but with Italy you never know. I think Holland are going to take this one - They finished 2nd in the 2010 World Cup, and seem a lot hungrier than Spain these days. I agree the Dutch will be tough and may take it all this time around. The Swedes are always fun to watch with their fantastic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (can't do the accent on the c) ... great player of Bosnian heritage and love his name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastPommerFan Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Does the home team usually get a little performance boost like in the World Cup? if so it will be interesting to see if one of the hosts finishes group play ahead and knocks out either NED or SPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 I like Holland because of the jerseys. I follow the World Cup, but not much else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Does the home team usually get a little performance boost like in the World Cup? if so it will be interesting to see if one of the hosts finishes group play ahead and knocks out either NED or SPA. Hosts always seem to get a boost in Euro Championships as well, but not to the extent as the World Cup. Although, France got a huge host boost and won it in 2000, which was not really expected. Hosts Poland and Ukraine likely would not have qualified for the tournament finals had they not been co-hosts. It will be interesting to see what pans out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 I agree the Dutch will be tough and may take it all this time around. The Swedes are always fun to watch with their fantastic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (can't do the accent on the c) ... great player of Bosnian heritage and love his name. To elaborate on Zlatan's name ... The "ovic" at the end of Bosnian names translates to "son of" in much the same way as Mac in Scottish and Mc in Irish names. Over the years the Bosnian Serbs tended to drop the "ov" and just use the "ic" at the end of names, but the meaning is the same. So, if one sees "ovic" at the end of family names today in Bosnia it is very likely that they are Muslims. So, Zlatan Ibrahimovic translates to Golden (Zlatan ... a very Muslim first name) Son of Ibrahim. Ibrahim is Arabic for Prophet Abraham (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). The father of monotheism (the belief in one God) and the three major Abrahamic / Monotheic faiths (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) trace their roots to him. Zlatan is a dual Swede / Bosnian national since his father (a Bosnian Muslim) and mother (a Croatian) met and married in Sweden some time before the war broke out. Bosnian policy now is to grant citizenship to people born and living outside the country based on paternity. Zlatan was born and still makes his home in Sweden. He plays football with Milan of the Italian premier football league, of which he is captain, and the Swedish national team. Perhaps one day he will play for the Bosnian national team. I would love to see him paired with Edin Dzeko up front on the Bosnian national team. /end of hijack of my own thread ... :P . EDIT: Proper pronounciation way to say Zlatan's last name ... Like in most Eastern European languages "I" is said like our "E" and the c (there is an accent on the c ... like in french which makes it a ch sound) is said "CH" (as in each) ... Ibrahimovic = EbrahEmovEch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWell Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 The aging english team will win this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 The aging english team will win this one There's one in every group ... they insist on saying the silliest things ... :P . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaFontaineToMogilny Posted June 5, 2012 Report Share Posted June 5, 2012 To elaborate on Zlatan's name ... The "ovic" at the end of Bosnian names translates to "son of" in much the same way as Mac in Scottish and Mc in Irish names. Over the years the Bosnian Serbs tended to drop the "ov" and just use the "ic" at the end of names, but the meaning is the same. So, if one sees "ovic" at the end of family names today in Bosnia it is very likely that they are Muslims. So, Zlatan Ibrahimovic translates to Golden (Zlatan ... a very Muslim first name) Son of Ibrahim. Ibrahim is Arabic for Prophet Abraham (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). The father of monotheism (the belief in one God) and the three major Abrahamic / Monotheic faiths (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) trace their roots to him. Zlatan is a dual Swede / Bosnian national since his father (a Bosnian Muslim) and mother (a Croatian) met and married in Sweden some time before the war broke out. Bosnian policy now is to grant citizenship to people born and living outside the country based on paternity. Zlatan was born and still makes his home in Sweden. He plays football with Milan of the Italian premier football league, of which he is captain, and the Swedish national team. Perhaps one day he will play for the Bosnian national team. I would love to see him paired with Edin Dzeko up front on the Bosnian national team. /end of hijack of my own thread ... :P . Since Zlatan has played official games for Sweden at the senior level, he can never represent Bosnia in an official match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMatrix31 Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 I've been a Germany and Holland fan since I was a little kid. Don't know who's going to win the whole tourney but damn, I can't freakin wait! Auf Gehts Deutschland! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Since Zlatan has played official games for Sweden at the senior level, he can never represent Bosnia in an official match. Well then ... I'd settle for a friendly against Toronto FC ... I'd so be there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaLaLaFontaine Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Wow i did not expect a thread about the soccer EM here. I am German so i cry everything i have for them in their games. I also expect Poland to reach the semifinals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Wow i did not expect a thread about the soccer FOOTBALL EM here. I am German so i cry everything i have for them in their games. I also expect Poland to reach the semifinals. You can always expect a football thread from me my friend ... took the liberty of editing your post ... :P . I think the Germans will do very well and are a good bet to win the tournament. Not sure about your prediction for Poland ... may get a fan boost as host. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krt88 Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Germany is going to be tough but don't sleep on the two hosts either. One definitely makes a semi- final and I'd be airports if Ukraine doesn't go really deep in the thing. France is another to watch but like always their form is all over the place. Poland - I'm a huge Dortmund fan, Kuba (Blaszczykowski) & Lewandowski are great but I'm not sure their defense and goalkeeping has enough consistency to get to the SF but one if the 2 hosts are gonna make it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaLaLaFontaine Posted June 7, 2012 Report Share Posted June 7, 2012 You can always expect a football thread from me my friend ... took the liberty of editing your post ... :P . I think the Germans will do very well and are a good bet to win the tournament. Not sure about your prediction for Poland ... may get a fan boost as host. Germany is going to be tough but don't sleep on the two hosts either. One definitely makes a semi- final and I'd be airports if Ukraine doesn't go really deep in the thing. France is another to watch but like always their form is all over the place. Poland - I'm a huge Dortmund fan, Kuba (Blaszczykowski) & Lewandowski are great but I'm not sure their defense and goalkeeping has enough consistency to get to the SF but one if the 2 hosts are gonna make it! @Sabres fan in Ns: krt88 named the players why Poland will be huge. They won with my favorite football club the championship and the cup ( 2 different events) in Germany this year. All three (3 = Piszek) made an big impact. So we wil see. Germany does have a good team, but they have one big problem: 7 of their core players lost three championships: the two my favorite club won and the European champions league, although they were clearly better. We will see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Day 1 results: Poland 1 - Greece 1 The hosts looked good, but Greece tied it just after the half and also played well. A brilliant save by the Polish keeper on a penalty in the 71st minute saved the day for the host team. Chippy match with a number of yellow cards and two red cards ... so both sides finished on 10 men. Russia 4 - Czech Republic 1 Well the Russians looked very good against a not so good side. We shall see how they do against Poland and Greece ... better competition than the Czechs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR HOLLIDAY Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Day 1 results: Poland 1 - Greece 1 The hosts looked good, but Greece tied it just after the half and also played well. A brilliant save by the Polish keeper on a penalty in the 71st minute saved the day for the host team. Chippy match with a number of yellow cards and two red cards ... so both sides finished on 10 men. I don't think the match was chippy, it was tough but clean. Ref should have never given two yellows to that Greek Player, he got the red against the Polish keeper spot on. It was an up temp game which Poland should have put away in the first half, but they failed to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Denmark with three points over the Dutch today...some smothering defense (at least what it seemed like from a relatively inexperienced soccer fan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Denmark with three points over the Dutch today...some smothering defense (at least what it seemed like from a relatively inexperienced soccer fan) To quote the Labatt's bear: 'did not see that coming.' Germany - Portugal should be a great match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Denmark with three points over the Dutch today...some smothering defense (at least what it seemed like from a relatively inexperienced soccer fan) See what happens when a team takes another lightly. Everyone thought (myself included) the Danes would be hard pressed to get many points out of this Group ... the "Group of Death" in this tournament. The Danes are known for their defense first style of play and capitalize on mistakes of the opponent. They weathered a storm initially and scored on the one Dutch mistake. The goal was a thing of beauty, but it looks like the Dutch keeper misplayed the shot. The Danes always seem to raise their level of play against their neighbour. This group is extremely tough and the Dutch are in some trouble with matches coming up against powerhouse Germany and a good team, with one of the best footballers (Christiano Ronaldo) in the world, in Portugal. To quote the Labatt's bear: 'did not see that coming.' Germany - Portugal should be a great match. To quote me ... "neither did I". I agree the second match today should be a good one. I think the Germans will take it, but they are notorious for playing low key in early matches of any tournament of this type and just doing enough to make it through to the next stage. ===== In other football news ... Canada played extremely well in a 1 - 0 victory over Cuba in a World Cup 2014 qualifying match played in 35 degrees and 100% humidity in Havana. The pitch was just terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMatrix31 Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Very Spain-esque win today for the Germans. I'll take it, I guess. Have to do better against Holland. Podolski and Gomez were pretty crappy, aside from Gomez's goal. We flopped way too much too. Very unlike the Germans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Very Spain-esque win today for the Germans. I'll take it, I guess. Have to do better against Holland. Podolski and Gomez were pretty crappy, aside from Gomez's goal. We flopped way too much too. Very unlike the Germans. While all you said is very true ... You can't beat that German engineering though ... I think they will be there in the end, probably a top two finish and quite possibly the Champions of European football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Today's first match is in the books ... A good one in which holders Spain and Italy draw 1 - 1. The Italians scored first and Spain tied it about 3 minutes later. Fernando Torres ... Spains answer to the Sabres former whipping boy Connolly ... everyone loves to hate him now ... missed a very good chance late ... no kidding. Up next ... Croatia and Ireland. Should be another good one. ===== Update: Croatia and Ireland has just gone final. Croatia with an early goal (3 minutes into the match), another just before the half and the third just a few minutes into the second half looked very good. The Irish tied the match in the 19th minute, but there was not much luck for the Irish today. When the Croatians went up by two and as the second half wound down the Irish actually had 3 bonified strikers (basically players who's only job is to score goals) on the pitch, as opposed to Spain who started their match earlier today with no real strikers playing. A good match and the Irish played better than the score indicates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 For anyone and all that are interested ... Yesterday's results: Co-host Ukraine looked very good in coming back to beat a good Swedish team (2 - 1) on two goals by Shevchenko. In a defensive struggle (read snore fest) of two good teams that are likely to underachieve this time around ... France and England drew 1 - 1. In today's first match the Czech Republic scored two early goals (in the first 6 minutes of the match) and held on to defeat Greece 2 - 1. The Greeks, who won the tournament in 2004, will be in tough to make it out of the Group Stage this time around. Today's late game has the high flying Russians facing co-host Poland. The schenanigans have started already with fans of the two teams brawling prior to the kick-off. ===== UPDATE: Poland and Russia drew 1 - 1. Another good game in which the co-host Poles tied the match about 12 minutes into the second half. Expect more investigation into fan violence ... maybe some form of penalty for the teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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