January 10th, 2012
Group Winners
Coach Fabio Capello
One to Watch Kyle Walker
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries that will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists that will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
In the next of our Euro 2012 team profiles, England come under the spotlight. England have the joint oldest national football team having been formed in 1870, they have a proud footballing history and see themselves as inventors of the game which has become their national sport. Needless to say England have been a regular feature at major international tournaments, appearing at the World Cup Finals on thirteen occasions since 1950 and making the European Championships eight times, the first being in 1968. Success however, has been harder to come by in the competitions themselves, the English have only ever won the World Cup once, famously on home ground in 1966, the closest they have come since then was an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat by West Germany in the semi-final at Italia 90. The European Championships, formerly the European Cup of Nations, has proven an even more difficult nut to crack, England’s best achievements in that tournament so far have been a third place finish in 1968 and, another penalty shoot-out defeat by the Germans in the semi-final of Euro 96, this time in front of their home fans.
Since then successive England managers, Glenn Hoddle, Kevin Keegan and Sven Goran Eriksson have fared no better, all successfully negotiating tournament qualification groups and then failing to deliver anything more than quarter final elimination at best. Following Eriksson’s unsuccessful 2006 World Cup campaign he was replaced as head coach by Steve McClaren. Under McClaren’s direction the England team slumped to a new low in modern times, failing to qualify for Euro 2008 was the first time they hadn’t reached a major international competition since their failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. McClaren was duly sacked and became the shortest serving England manager ever, he was replaced by Fabio Capello.
Capello arrived with an “Iron Man” reputation, he would instil the discipline required to turn England’s ageing, so called “Golden Generation” into “lean mean winning machines”, and for a while, it looked like he had. England qualified for South Africa 2010 in impressive style, with a game to spare, sealing their place with a 5-1 home win over Croatia. Things were looking rosy, however, once again at the tournament itself, England started off in shaky fashion, only just scraping through the group stage. It was clear from the very start that the problems of old hadn’t been fixed, Capello was unsure who his goalkeeper should be, Gerrard and Lampard were still being used together despite their obvious deficiency as a partnership, and the 4-4-2 system employed by Capello looked totally out of date. By the time England faced Germany in the second round, the team were at sixes and sevens, bereft of drive or confidence in themselves or each other and pretty quickly were being put to the sword by a dynamic, exciting, young German side who knew how to play together. England went home.
Since then, Capello has been forced to ring the changes and has tried to bring in some younger, fresher talent. It seems to be working at the moment with the England side qualifying unbeaten for next year’s Euros and recently defeating World and European Champions Spain in a friendly. One of the newer players in the England fold is Kyle Walker. Walker is a whippet-like right back who can play on the right of midfield too, his pace, fearlessness and ability to deliver in the final third, along with real defensive ability make him one to earmark in the summer when the tournament begins.
It is almost impossible to predict England’s chances of success in Poland and Ukraine, they have qualified well enough, but then they have done that many times before without further achievement. I don’t think Capello knows his best eleven at all and despite having a fairly deep pool of talent to choose from, he doesn’t transmit the confidence of having a clear plan as yet. The suspension of Rooney for the Group Stage is also a major headache along with the poor form of recognised central defensive pair Terry and Ferdinand. With all of these factors in mind and their abject showing in South Africa, I would be fairly surprised if England made it past the quarter finals this time around.
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Tags: coach fabio capello, domestic football, eight times, euro 2012, football competitions, fortnight, germans, glenn hoddle, group winners, home fans, international arena, inventors, italia 90, kevin keegan, national football team, national sport, sven goran eriksson, team profiles, west germany, world cup finals
Posted in Group D, Team Profiles | No Comments »
December 17th, 2011
Play-off Winners
Coach Slaven Bilic
One to Watch Mario Mandzukic
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries, which will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists who will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
Croatia is our destination, as we continue profiling the teams that will be taking part in next summer’s European Championships. The Independent State of Croatia played nineteen international friendly matches between 1940 and 1944, however, at the end of the Second World War, in 1945, Croatia became part of the new state of Yugoslavia and, as such, did not field an independent team again for almost half a century. The modern Croatian team was established in 1990, and their first competitive matches were in qualification for Euro 96, having been recognised by FIFA in 1993. Since then Croatia have had tremendous success on the international stage for such a small country, qualifying for three out of four World Cup Finals, only missing out in South Africa 2010, and amazingly, finishing third at their first attempt at France 98. As far as European competition goes, Croatia have qualified four times, only failing to make it to Euro 2000, and have made it to the quarter finals twice, in 1996, their first ever international tournament, and last time the Finals were staged, in 2008.
Much of Croatia’s early success was built on the backs’ of a “Golden Generation” of superbly talented players who all came through to represent their country at senior level at around the same time. Under coach Miroslav Blazovic, this generation of players which included the likes of Davor Suker, Goran Vlaovic, Zvonimir Boban and current coach, Slaven Bilic, represented Croatia at Euro 96 and World Cup 98. At Euro 96, held in England, Croatia, like the Czech Republic, were playing in their first major Finals since becoming a sovereign state; and like the Czech republic, they performed excellently, surprising many by qualifying from the group stage, defeating defending champions Denmark, 3-0, on the way, before losing to Germany, the eventual winners, in the quarter final. France 98 saw Croatia build on the impressive start made two years previously, and consolidate their position as real force to be reckoned with. Victories over Japan and Jamaica were enough to put Croatia into the knock-out stages. Once there, victory over Romania set up a quarter final tie against, the heavily fancied, Germany; remarkably, Croatia won the match at a canter, stunning the Germans with a terrific display which allowed them to run out 3-0 winners. The Croatians were finally beaten 2-1 in the semi-final by, hosts and eventual tournament winners, France, victory over Holland in the third place play-off ensured a bronze medal for the young nation, and the brilliant Davor Suker took home the Golden Boot.
Since the heady heights of the late nineties, Croatia have done reasonably well, qualification has usually been achieved, missing out only twice, however group stage elimination has usually followed. The exception came at Euro 2008 under current coach Slaven Bilic, having qualified ahead of England, who they defeated at Wembley during the campaign, Croatia went on a run to the quarter finals, where they lost a penalty shoot-out to Turkey. The run however, included victories against Austria, Poland and Germany and was the first time Croatia had taken maximum points from the group matches of a major tournament. Failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup Finals was a surprise, however, coach Bilic vowed to stay on and take Croatia forward.
The current Croatia squad contains some fantastic players, Luka Modric, Eduardo Silva, Darijo Srna (c), to name but a few. They are extremely compact without the ball, making them very difficult to break down, and play a pressing game, giving their opponents very little time on the ball. When they do have the ball Croatia play an incredibly quick, counter attacking game, which relies on one and two touch play, pace, and clinical finishing. Some vastly experienced players are complimented by a promising crop of younger players coming through, such as Ivan Perisic of Borussia Dortmund and Ivan Raketic of Sevilla. A player to look out for next summer is rugged striker Mario Mandzukic, currently of Bundesliga side Vfl Wolfsburg, the hitman has averaged roughly a goal every two games throughout his club career, he also scored twice in qualifying and got the second goal in Croatia’s 0-3 play-off first leg victory in Turkey.
Croatia could prove to be Euro 2012’s dark horses, their qualifying run was impressive, winning seven out of ten games, garnering 22 points, they were unlucky not to qualify by right. A comprehensive victory in their play-off with Turkey showed the strength that they possess, and any team that underestimates their quality will surely pay the price. Quality players with tournament experience, a strong group ethic united behind a manager who commands respect, and a distinctive style of play which suits the attributes of the team, all combine to make Croatia a very dangerous proposition. How far can they go? We’ll have to wait and see.
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Tags: attributes, bilic, croatian team, dangerous proposition, dark horses, distinctive style, domestic football, ethic, euro 2000, euro 2012, football competitions, fortnight, france 98, games, golden generation, half a century, independent state, independent team, international arena, international friendly matches, international stage, price quality, quality players, quarter finals, second world war, south africa 2010, talented players, team profile, tournament experience, turkey, victory, world cup finals
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December 15th, 2011
Play-off Winners
Coach Michal Bilek
One to Watch Vaclav Pilar
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries, which will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists who will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
We visit the Czech Republic for our next Euro 2012 team profile. The Czech Republic has only been an independent footballing nation since the early 1990s, they played their first match against Turkey in 1994 which they won comfortably 1-4. Prior to becoming a sovereign nation, the Czech Republic made up part of the Czechoslovakian team which competed internationally for over fifty years. The Czechoslovak team of yesteryear were a recognised force in international competitions, finishing runners up in the World Cup Finals of 1934 and 1962, and winning the European Championships in 1976.
Since separation, the Czech Republic have done fairly well on the international stage for such a relatively small country. They succeeded at their first attempt, qualifying for the European Championships in 1996, which were held in England. When the action got underway, the Czechs lost their opening group game to Germany 2-0, however, they were undeterred by this setback and, were able to put together a magnificent run of performances and results to become the surprise package of the tournament, reaching the final. Unfortunately for the Czech Republic, they would again face the Germans, and despite taking a 1-0 lead, they were pegged back, eventually losing to an extra time Golden Goal, scored by Oliver Bierhoff. The performances of the Czech team gained them a lot of admirers, and several of their star players, such as Karel Poborsky, Patrick Berger, and of course, Pavel Nedved, earned lucrative contracts at big European clubs on the back of their showing in the tournament.
After doing so well at Euro 96, Czech Republic were heavily fancied to go on and do well at World Cup 98 in France. However qualification did not go according to plan as the Czechs finished the campaign in third place behind Spain and Yugoslavia, therefore not making it to the tournament proper. Slightly unfortunate elimination in the group stage of Euro 2000 was followed up by yet another failure to make the World Cup Finals in 2002. Finishing second in their group, behind Denmark, the Czech Republic would face Belgium in a two legged play-off; they lost both legs 1-0. Undefeated in qualification for Euro 2004, a very strong Czech Republic side arrived in Portugal in great form. With the likes of Milan Baros, Jan Koller, and, the evergreen Pavel Nedved, the Czechs took the tournament by storm, winning all their group games and making it to the semi-final, where they were cruelly beaten by Greece, with an extra time Silver Goal.
Czech Republic qualified for their first World Cup as an independent nation in 2006. Full of high hopes after their success at Euro 2004, the Czechs arrived in the group stages, however, unfortunately for them and their fans, they also departed in the group stages, and said good-bye to, the retiring, Nedved and Poborsky. Group stage elimination at the hands of Turkey was to follow at Euro 2008, and failure to make the World Cup Finals in South Africa 2010 was the first time the Czechs had failed to make the grade since 2002.
Czech Republic finished second in their qualifying group, amassing 13 points and losing three matches along the way, two of those defeats were against the reigning World and European champions, Spain, so we can’t really hold that against them. They won their play-off against Montenegro 3-0 on aggregate and thus qualified for next summer’s finals in Poland and Ukraine. The Czechs under manager Michal Bilek are a solid, well-disciplined outfit, who are hard to beat, if somewhat lacking in flair. They have many experienced players such as Petr Cech in goal, Tomas Rosicky (c) in midfield, and Milan Baros up front, as well as a couple of exciting youngsters breaking into the team. One of these youngsters to look out for is Vaclav Pilar, he is a 23 year old attacking midfielder, who’s recently signed a contract with Wolfsburg in Germany, rated very highly in his homeland, Pilar scored a tremendous goal to put the Czechs in command of their play-off first leg.
The Czech Republic have done well to make it to Euro 2012, they are a decent side, who may prove difficult to beat, but they will need a favourable draw to avoid group stage elimination.
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Tags: bilek, cech, czech republic, czech team, czechoslovakian team, czechs, decent side, domestic football, euro 2012, european champions, extra time, favourable, flair, football competitions, fortnight, golden goal, group game, group stage, international arena, international competitions, international stage, midfield, milan, neil patterson, poland, qualifying group, sovereign nation, surprise package, team profile, tomas rosicky, ukraine, vaclav, wolfsburg, world cup finals, yesteryear, youngsters
Posted in Group A, Team Profiles | No Comments »
December 9th, 2011
Play-off Winners
Coach: Paulo Bento
One to Watch: Fabio Coentrao
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries, which will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists who will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
We visit Portugal for the next in our series of Euro 2012 team profiles. Portugal played their first competitive match as a national football team in 1921, they lost 3-1 to their neighbours and rivals Spain. The Portuguese had their first taste of competitive international tournament play at the 1928 Olympics, then the foremost international tournament in football, reaching the quarter finals, before losing to Egypt. Since then, Portugal have had mixed fortunes on the international stage, qualifying for five World Cup Finals, their third place finish in 1966, the best position that they’ve achieved to date. In terms of European competition, the Portuguese have done slightly better, reaching the European Championships five times, their defeat to Greece in the final of Euro 2004 on home soil, the closest that Portugal have come to winning major honours.
The World Cup of 1966 saw Portugal produce their best ever finish in the competition. The team which included Golden Boot winner Eusebio defeated Hungary, Bulgaria, Brazil and North Korea before being beaten by eventual winners England in the semi-final. They went on to defeat the Soviet Union in the third place play-off, and Eusebio finished the tournament, in England, as top scorer with nine goals. Portugal didn’t qualify for a major tournament again until the European Championships in 1984. There they went on a run to the semi- finals, narrowly losing out in extra time to hosts, and eventual champions, France 3-2 in a thrilling encounter; a first round exit at Mexico 86 followed.
It would be ten years before the Portuguese would reach another major tournament. Euro 96, back in England, would see the coming of age of Portugal’s “Golden Generation”. The group of players, which included Rui Costa, Fernando Couto and Figo, who’d won the U-20 World Cups of 1989 and 91 had progressed into the senior ranks and were now delivering relative success. Qualification was followed by a run to the knock-out stages, where they were defeated 1-0 by tournament runners-up the Czech Republic, Poborsky doing the damage with an exquisite lob, leaving Baia stranded. Euro 96 however, was followed by a controversial failure to qualify for France 98. Portugal qualified for Euro 2000 as the best runners up, they went on a blistering run to the semi-finals, where having been 1-0 up, they lost to a Golden Goal penalty scored by Zenedine Zidane.
Portugal’s fury at the award of the penalty to France resulted in chaos which saw Xavier, Nuno Gomes and current coach Paulo Bento receive lengthy suspensions. After a poor showing at World Cup 2002 Luis Felipe Scolari took over management of the Portuguese. Having just won the World Cup with Brazil, Scolari took Portugal into Euro 2004, where, as the host nation, they were expected to do very well. They lost their opening match 2-1 against underdogs Greece, however they re-grouped and went all the way to the final. There they would again face Greece, and again they would lose, this time 1-0; a huge upset and a massive disappointment for Portugal. Scolari went on to take Portugal to the World Cup semi-final two years later, but he would leave after being knocked out in the last eight of Euro 2008.
Following defeat in the last sixteen of World Cup 2010, and a doping scandal, Carlos Queiroz was replaced as coach by Paulo Bento. Bento, a member of the “Golden Generation”, managed to secure Portugal’s qualification for Euro 2012 via a 6-2 play-off win over Bosnia. Under his tutelage, Portugal have only lost once competitively, against group winners Denmark, and look an altogether different proposition. The players look happier and more unified, the trademark flair and attacking style of play is back, and the results in qualifying and the play-off bear this out. Portugal have a number of exciting, world class players such as Ronaldo and Nani, but keep an eye out for Fabio Coentrao. A skilful left back with pace to burn he can also play as a left winger and is an excellent crosser of the ball, Coentrao plays his club football with Real Madrid in Spain.
Predicting how Portugal will fare in Poland and Ukraine is difficult, they certainly have the tools to put a run together and make it to the semi-finals, however, it depends on the draw they receive and whether they can produce their best football on the big stage. With Paulo Bento they have a coach that all the players respect, which is vitally important at international level, and results would certainly suggest that they are a team on the rise again, however there are some excellent teams in Europe at the moment and I don’t think the Portuguese are quite at that level.
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Tags: 1928 olympics, domestic football, euro 2004, euro 2012, first taste, football competitions, fortnight, fortunes, golden boot, home soil, international arena, international stage, national football team, neighbours, north korea, quarter finals, soviet union, team profiles, top scorer, world cup finals
Posted in Group B, Team Profiles | No Comments »
December 6th, 2011
Play-off Winners
Coach Giovanni Trapatoni
One to Watch Shane Long
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries, which will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists who will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
We pay a visit to the Republic of Ireland for the next in our series of team profiles for next year’s European Championships. Formerly known as the Irish Free State, the footballing nation which is officially known by FIFA as the Republic of Ireland, first took part in international competition at the 1924 Olympics. As you might expect for such a small country, in which “soccer” is not a prioritised sport, the Republic of Ireland do not have an illustrious history in major international football tournaments.
The Irish have qualified for the World Cup Finals on just three occasions, Italia 90, U.S.A 94, and 2002 when the Finals took place in Japan and South Korea; in all three instances however, they have managed to get out of the group stage and make it into the knock-out rounds, reaching the quarter finals in 1990. In terms of European competition, other than their appearance in the European Nations’ Cup in 1964, the Republic have qualified for the European Championships just once, in 1988 when the competition was held in West Germany. This was the first time that the Irish had appeared in a major international finals tournament and although they didn’t make it through the group, they were very unlucky not to progress. After defeating arch rivals England 1-0, Ray Houghton with the goal, and drawing 1-1 with the Soviet Union, the Republic came within eight minutes of achieving a draw against Holland which would have sent the Irish through and the Dutch home. As it transpired Kieft scored for the Dutch, Ireland were out, and Holland went on to be crowned European Champions 1988.
Following on from that very respectable debut on the international stage, the Republic of Ireland, under charismatic boss Jackie Charlton went on to qualify for two successive World Cup Finals. The first of these was at Italia 90 where the Irish qualified for the second round after three draws in the group stage; they went on to beat Romania on penalties, David O’ Leary with the famous fifth spot kick, before losing 1-0 to the hosts in the quarter final. Four years later Ireland made it to the second round in America after a famous victory against Italy in their opening match, Ray Houghton again doing the business in a 1-0 win. They went on to lose 2-0 to Holland in the second round.
After defeat to Holland in the play-off for Euro 96, Jack Charlton retired as Republic of Ireland manager and was replaced by Mick McCarthy. McCarthy’s charges were unlucky not to qualify for both France 98 and Euro 2000, losing out in both at the play-off stage against Belgium and Turkey respectively. Successful qualification for World Cup 2002 was followed by a bust up between McCarthy and, then captain, Roy Keane, which ended in the latter being sent home. Despite this, the Republic gave a good showing, again making the knockout stages, this time they were beaten on penalties 3-2 in the second round by Spain. Since then successive managers such as Brian Kerr and Steve Staunton brought Ireland little success, however following the appointment of Giovani Trapatoni in 2008, things began to improve.
Trapatoni has instilled a solidity and a belief within the squad and the effect of his experience and class was seen almost immediately, the Irish were very unlucky not to qualify for South Africa 2010, losing out again in the play-offs, this time after a blatant handball from Thierry Henry set up the winning goal for France. For Euro 2012 the Irish finished behind Russia in their qualifying group, gaining 21 points, and losing only once, they went on to qualify by beating Estonia in a play-off 5-1 on aggregate.
Looking at the Republic of Ireland this time around, the one thing that you have to say immediately is that they are hard to beat, they do not concede many goals, just seven in ten qualifiers and just two in their last eleven. Looking at their squad, they’ve got some really good experience with the likes of Dunne, Given and Robbie Keane, as well as some exciting youngsters such as Seamus Coleman. One to look out for in the summer is Shane Long, he’s a quick thinking, pacey goalscorer who has made the step up to the Premier League with aplomb this year, and has already netted seven times in 23 international caps, centre backs beware. Ireland can definitely make the quarter finals, as they’ve shown over the years, they are never just there to make up the numbers. Trapatoni has them settled and playing well and the Irish always pull it out in the major tournaments, none of the big boys will fancy drawing the Republic in the group stage, because with the Green Army roaring them on, Ireland have a habit of rising to the big occasion.
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Tags: 1924 olympics, arch rivals, brian kerr, david o leary, doing the business, domestic football, drawing 1, euro 2012, european nations cup, football competitions, football tournaments, france 98, group stage, illustrious history, international arena, international competition, international football, international stage, irish free state, italia 90, jack charlton, knockout stages, mick mccarthy, qualifying group, quarter finals, republic of ireland, respectable debut, roy keane, south africa 2010, South Korea;, steve staunton, team profiles, trapatoni, ukraine, west germany, world cup 2002, world cup finals
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December 5th, 2011
Qualifying Group Winners
Coach Dick Advocaat
One to Watch Alan Dzagoev
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries that will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists that will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
The next in our series of team profiles for Euro 2012 takes us east to Russia. The modern Russian national team played its first international fixture against Mexico in 1992 following the break-up of the Soviet Union, it is considered the natural successor to the U.S.S.R. team by FIFA, even though many of the former U.S.S.R.s best known players were actually from the Ukraine, for example, eight of the Soviet starting eleven in the final of Euro 88 were Ukrainian. Russia as the U.S.S.R., qualified for seven World Cup Finals, their best run in the competition proper took them to fourth place in 1966 in England. The U.S.S.R. fared slightly better in European competition reaching the final tournament on six occasions (as the C.I.S. in 1992), winning the European Cup of Nations, as it was then known, in 1960, and finishing runners-up to the marvellous Dutch team, which included Gullit and Van Basten, in West Germany 1988.
Since becoming an independent country Russia have managed to qualify for two World Cup Finals, U.S.A. 1994 and in the Far East in 2002, both of these trips ended in group stage elimination, with Russia managing one win and two defeats on each occasion. The European Championships have been slightly kinder to the Russians, with qualification achieved for four tournaments-counting next summer- which includes the last three in a row. Russia’s best ever showing in a major international tournament as an independent nation came in Euro 2008 under coach Guus Hiddink. Having lost their opening group game 1-4 to Spain, Russia won their next two group games to set up a quarter final match against Hiddink’s native Holland. Russia took the lead against the tournament favourites on ten minutes, and despite being pegged back, managed to get back on top and eventually win the game 3-1. Hiddink’s charges went on to play, eventual tournament winners, Spain again in the semi-final, where they lost 0-3. Under their Dutch manager, the Russians narrowly missed out on qualification for South Africa 2010, losing out agonisingly on away goals in their play-off against Slovenia.
Following the failed campaign, Hiddink was replaced as manager by another Dutchman, Dick Advocaat. The former Glasgow Rangers boss has managed to guide Russia to automatic qualification for Euro 2012, topping their group on 23 points, a run which saw them win seven out of ten games and lose only once. Advocaat has kept a similar group of players around him as were there under his predecessor and has been able to bring a number of the younger players further into the fold during his tenure. A particularly exciting young talent is Alan Dzagoev, a hard-working, skilful, attacking midfielder. Dzagoev, though still only 21 years old, is regarded as one of Russia’s most talented players, a first team regular with his club CSKA Moscow, he was awarded Best Young Player in the Russian league 2008/09. He made his debut for the national side against Germany in 2008 and scored four goals during qualification for Euro 2012 including a crucial winner in Slovakia.
Russia are an interesting proposition coming into Poland and Ukraine; they showed their quality in 2008 with a great run to the semis, and, that was without their main striker Pogrebnyak who was out injured for the whole competition. Failure to qualify for 2010 was by the narrowest of margins and they could quite easily have secured qualification earlier had they taken their chances against Germany. Advocaat inherited a decent squad and has been able to work with it and improve it slightly, adding a little more steel as results have shown. Obviously, not all sides can make it through the group stages, and it will depend largely on the draw that Russia receive what their chances will be of progressing; however, they have quality within the team and have shown that they are hard to beat, my prediction: quarter finals.
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Tags: break up of the soviet union, coach dick, country russia, domestic football, dutch team, euro 2012, euro 88, football competitions, group stage, group winners, gullit, independent country, international arena, natural successor, qualifying group, russian national team, team profiles, van basten, west germany, world cup finals
Posted in Group A, Team Profiles | No Comments »
December 1st, 2011
Qualifying Group Winners
Coach: Cesare Prandelli
One to Watch: Giuseppe Rossi
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries that will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists that will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
In the next of our team profiles for Euro 2012 we cast our eyes upon Italy. Italy played their first match as a nation in 1910, since then they have gone on to produce an illustrious record in international football competition. The “Azzurri” as the national side is known (in reference to the blue shirts in which they play) have appeared in no fewer than seventeen World Cup Finals, hosting the event twice, 1934 and 1990, and winning it on four separate occasions, 1934, 1938, 1982 and most recently in 2006. In terms of the European Championships, the Italians have appeared in the finals tournament seven times. Their success in the competition cannot compare with their World Cup winning credentials however, winning the tournament just once, in Italy in 1968 when it was a smaller event comprised of only four teams, known as the European Cup of Nations.
Italy are best known for being a fairly defensive minded team, this comes from the Cattenaccio style of football that the national team employed certainly during the 1960’s and 1970s. This defensive system employs a sweeper behind three marking defenders, and is specifically designed to frustrate opponents, close down any space and ultimately stop the other team from scoring. Although the Italian game has moved away slightly from this rigid defensive system over the years, they are still often criticised, particularly from outside quarters for playing a very controlled form of the game , with less focus on scoring goals and more focus on keeping clean sheets. While some of the criticism stems from frustration on the part of the success of these tactics, Italy’s appearance in the 1994 World Cup Final for example, some criticism has been justified, as good Italian teams, with plenty of attacking options have found themselves heading home from tournaments early due to negative tactics. A fine example of this was in the last World Cup in South Africa when Italy exited at the group stage after poor results against Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.
Following that embarrassing exit current coach Cesare Prandelli took the reins of power. The new coach has brought in a number of new players and has successfully managed to bring the average age of the squad down. Italy’s run in qualifying for Euro 2012 was impressive, eight wins and two draws saw them top their group on 26 points which stands them in good stead for next summer’s tournament. The squad looks good on paper and has a number of exciting prospects like Rossi and Balotelli, Antonio Cassano though is the one to look out for, an incredibly talented, composed playmaker in the prime of his career, with plenty of experience, his six goals in the qualifying campaign not to be scoffed at either.
Italian football has again been in the headlines for the wrong reasons in the last couple of seasons, with player strikes and fan violence amongst the problems revealed. This may turn out well for Italy though as they always seem to produce their best when they have something to fight against, the World Cup winning sides of 1982 and 2006 both arrived at the tournaments emerging from scandals. Given their historical strength in major championships, their results in qualifying and the rebirth that Prandelli seems to have engineered, I think Italy will certainly reach the knockout stages, how far they can go beyond that is a moot point. Although there are other, to my mind, stronger teams in next year’s finals, history has taught us never to write of the Italian’s in major tournaments, you do so at your peril.
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Tags: Antonio Cassano, blue shirts, Cesare Prandelli, domestic football, euro 2012, European Championship Finals, European Cup, football competition, football competitions, Giuseppe Rrossi, group winners, illustrious record, international arena, international football, italian game, italy italy, qualifying group, south africa, team profiles, world cup, world cup finals, World Cup winning
Posted in Group C, Team Profiles | No Comments »
November 29th, 2011
Group Winners
Coach Laurent Blanc
One to Watch Karim Benzema
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries that will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists that will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
The French team are the subject of our next Euro 2012 profile. The French, as a nation, have a proud footballing tradition going back to 1904 when they contested their first match. As you might expect then, France have a fairly illustrious history in International competition, taking part in thirteen World Cup Finals, finishing third in 1958 and 1986 and winning the tournament in 1998 on home soil. There have been two “Golden Generations” in the recent history of French football which have both delivered major honours. The first was in the 1980s, it included the “Magic Square” of Platini, Tigana, Giresse and Luis Fernandez, which terrorised defences, this team was unlucky not to secure at least one World Cup-beaten by West Germany in the semi-finals both in 1982 and 1986. It did, however, triumph at the European Championships held in France in 1984, France’s first success in a major tournament, with Michel Platini scoring a tournament record nine goals. After a period of decline, which saw them fail to qualify for three of the next four major tournament, France found a second “Golden Generation”. Including players such as Zidane, Thuram, Henry and Trezeguet, the squad added to World Cup success in 1998 by going on to be crowned European Champions in Holland two years later-Trezeguet scoring the Golden Goal winner to beat the Italians 2-1.
Much has happened in to France since then, a turbulent decade has seen France fail to emerge from the Group Stage in three of the last four tournaments, and internal disagreements and personality clashes, between playing staff and management, culminated in the team’s refusal to train during a mutinous 2010 World Cup campaign. As things are Les Bleus have qualified for Euro 2012 by right as group winners, however they are somewhat lucky to be in that position for my money. An unconvincing set of performances which began with a defeat by Belarus in Paris, ended with France scraping through after being awarded a remarkably soft, late penalty against Bosnia-Herzogovina ; but for this decision, France would have been in the play-offs and Bosnia would be through to the tournament proper. Having said that, Les Bleus only lost once and conceded only four goals in the ten games, which I suppose is to be expected for a team managed by Laurent Blanc.
Looking at the current France squad there are some very talented players there, for example Samir Nasri and of course Frank Ribery, however , the squad is lacking depth and experience, especially in defence and up front. The goal scoring responsibilities will fall very much upon the shoulders of Karim Benzema, the young Real Madrid striker. Benzema was controversially left out of the squad for South Africa after being caught up in a scandal before the tournament so will be keen to make an impression this time round. After a rocky beginning, he has settled well in La Liga and is now a regular first choice for manager Jose Mourinho. He is starting to find his best form with six goals in nine games so far this season. With pace, strength, skill and composure Benzema is a match for any defence and all of France will be hoping he can keep his form going and bring it into the Euros with him, if he doesn’t, France may struggle.
France are a work in progress after all the changes brought about by the South Africa debacle, and although Blanc has done a reasonable job in steadying the ship and bringing in new players, doubts still remain over the togetherness of the squad. A favourable draw may see the French qualify for the quarter finals in second place, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll even make it that far, I certainly don’t see them progressing past that stage, there are too many teams with more to offer.
Neil Patterson
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Tags: domestic football, euro 2012, football competitions, french football, french team, giresse, golden generation, golden goal winner, group winners, home soil, illustrious history, karim benzema, laurent blanc, luis fernandez, magic square, michel platini, period of decline, tigana, world cup finals, world cup success
Posted in Group D, Team Profiles | No Comments »
November 27th, 2011
Group Winners
Coach Fernando Santos
One to Watch Ionnas Fetfadzidis
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries that will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists that will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
Continuing our look into the teams that will contest the Uefa Euro 2012, we arrive in Greece. The Greek national side do not have a very illustrious history in international competition, qualifying for the World Cup Finals just twice in the history of the competition, in 1994 when the tournament was held in the U.S.A. and in 2010 in South Africa. In 1994 Greece failed to secure any points, crashing out in the group stage, unable to score a single goal in the process and conceding ten; 2010 saw an improvement with a 2-1 win over Nigeria, however first round elimination at the feet of Argentina was to follow. Greece’s record of qualification for the European Championships is almost as bad, having made the finals just three times, the first being in 1980 and the most recent in 2008, both of these forays ending in group stage elimination. In 2004, however, Greece stunned the rest of Europe and the footballing world, by winning the tournament and becoming European Champions, defeating the reigning champions, France, and the host nation, Portugal, twice along the way (once in the group stage and again in the final). Greece’s triumph is regarded as one of the biggest shocks in football history and owed much to the defensive strategy of, long-time coach, Otto Rehhagel.
The failed Greek campaigns in Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 saw the replacement of Otto Rehhagel with Fernando Santos of Portugal. Santos, inheriting an ageing squad in need of revitalisation, his first task was to find and recognise fresh, talented, younger players and integrate them into the squad well enough and quickly enough to get off to a good start in the qualifiers for Euro 2012. Judging by the performances and results that the Greeks have achieved during the last fourteen months, it seems that he has been fairly successful in doing so. Greece didn’t lose a match in the qualifying stage, finishing top of their group, two points ahead of heavily fancied Croatia, who they beat 2-0 on the way, helping them climb the rankings to an unprecedented eighth in the world.
Looking at the Greek squad as it is now, Santos has managed to incorporate a number of youngsters into the team such as Kyriakos Papalopoudos-an excellent central defender courted by a number of Premier League clubs, and Sotiris Ninis – an exciting midfielder on the fringes under Rehhagel. Santos has achieved this whilst at the same time holding on to some of the veterans who bring such a wealth of experience to the side, such as Charisteas in attack and Karagounis in the midfield. The squad then, looks to have a good balance of youth and experience and a number of potentially exciting prospects, in particular, Ionnis Fetfadzidis. Fetfadzidis is a twenty year old attacking midfielder currently playing with Olympiacos, his fantastic close control and skill have led him to be dubbed the “Greek Messi” by fans and players alike. Making his debut in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, Fetfadzidis has gone on to score three goals in eleven caps so far from midfield, prompting his cub to extend his contract until 2015 and slap a 12.5 million euro release clause on the 20 year old’s contract.
Greece are an interesting proposition for next summer’s tournament, they are a more attacking outfit these days than under Rehhagel and certainly have some more dynamic players, however they still lack pace up front and will be relying on veterans such as Gekas and Charisteas to get the goals. Good form in qualification has in the past often been followed by a dismal showing in the final competition, aside from 2004 of course, and whilst I’m by no means writing them off, it would be a great achievement if they can get through the group and into the knock out stage.
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Tags: defensive strategy, domestic football, euro 2008, european champions, football competitions, football history, forays, fortnight, group stage, group winners, host nation, illustrious history, international arena, international competition, otto rehhagel, qualifying for the world cup, time coach, uefa euro 2012, world cup 2010, world cup finals
Posted in Group A, Team Profiles | No Comments »
November 26th, 2011
Best Group Runners Up
Coach Erik Hamren
One to Watch Tobias Hysen
As we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least, will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Within a fortnight from now, the world will know the names of the last four teams/countries that will join the 12 nations already guaranteed a place at Euro 2012. Over the next three weeks, we shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists that will bid to become the champions of Europe until 2016.
The next of our team profiles for Euro 2012 takes us to Sweden. Sweden’s history in qualifying for the major international tournaments is impressive, having qualified for no fewer than eleven World Cup Finals, finishing third in 1958 in Sweden and in 1994 when the tournament was staged in the United States. As hosts of the 1992 European Championships, Sweden qualified automatically, marking their début in the tournament with some fine performances, topping a group that included eventual champions Denmark, in the end they were defeated 2-3 by a newly unified German side. Since then Sweden have gone to appear in the European Championships on three further occasions, 2000, 2004 and 2008, only once getting past the group stage in 2004, when they lost to the Dutch after Edwin Van der Sar saved Olaf Mellberg’s penalty in the shootout, the game having finished goalless after extra time.
Sweden have qualified for Euro 2012 by right as the best runners up from the group stages, garnering more points from their qualifying games than any other second placed team. Their formidable form during the campaign saw the Swedes rack up 24 points from ten games, a record of eight victories and two defeats, including a 3-2 triumph over group winners the Netherlands in their final match. This victory marked the end of Holland’s remarkable record of 17 successive wins in qualifying and secured Sweden a points total that would have won three out of the six, six team groups.
On this, their fifth appearance in the European Championships to date, Sweden will be looking to improve on their recent record in major competitions. Failure to qualify for World Cup 2010 was seen as a disaster and resulted in the replacement of long-time coach Lars Lagerback with Erik Hamren. Under his tutelage Sweden look refreshed, he’s brought in a couple of players who had been on the fringes under the old regime to good effect, such as Alexander Gerndt, a skilful forward known for his speed, hard work and set piece wizardry. As well as bringing the new, Hamren’s arrival seems to have rejuvenated and even reinvigorated some of the more experienced campaigners, such as Kim Kallstrom and Johan Elmander, both playing a major part in Sweden’s successful qualifying campaign. A lesser known name but perhaps one to look out for this summer is that of Tobias Hysen of IFK Goteburg. Hysen is an attacking midfielder come striker, son of Glen Hysen, who Liverpool fans of a certain age will remember, formerly a fringe player; he has been a regular in the squad under Hamren’s stewardship. Having moved to Goteburg from Sunderland in 2007, Hysen has an excellent goals per game ratio, 49 in 114 appearances, and he is now replicating that form at international level with six goals from his 18 caps.
Sweden have a good chance of progressing into the knockout stages in Poland and Ukraine, their qualification results and performances were impressive and the new coach seems to really have the players motivated and playing at something like their best. The experience contained within the team, especially its spine, will be vital; Isaksson, Mellberg, Svensson (vc) and Ibrahimovic (c) have nearly 400 caps between them. Further progress could be possible but it will depend on the form of the mercurial Zlatan Ibrahimovic, if he is firing on all cylinders then there is a chance that Sweden should reach the semi-finals and emulate the success of 1992.
Neil Patterson
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Tags: coach erik, domestic football, edwin van der sar, euro 2012, final match, football competitions, fortnight, german side, group stage, group stages, group winners, hysen, international arena, olaf mellberg, remarkable record, sweden sweden, swedes, team profiles, van der sar, world cup finals
Posted in Group D, Team Profiles | No Comments »
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