Euro 2012 - Group Stage
Which is harder to win? The Euro or the World Cup? In the World Cup the strength among teams have greater gaps and it is possible to have the strongest paired with the weakest but the World Cup has more varied cultures and styles. I think at the Euro, the teams are more equal and is therefore, much harder in every game.
More importantly now, who will win the Euro 2012 and before that which teams from each group shall qualify plus prediction for the openers. Look carefully, the PIGS are here - Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain and the euro has been in trouble. Wonder if Messi and Ronaldo may be paid as collateral. Are football and footballers overpaid? Yes sir!!!
In a tournament format such as this, you can't afford to lose or you will have to play catch up as there will be no more margin for error. A win or loss can make or break a team in the opener. First games in most tournaments seldom sizzle or sparkle as teams size up each other cautiously as they warm up. Expect drab affairs and low score margins perhaps quite a few draws.
In a tournament format such as this, you can't afford to lose or you will have to play catch up as there will be no more margin for error. A win or loss can make or break a team in the opener. First games in most tournaments seldom sizzle or sparkle as teams size up each other cautiously as they warm up. Expect drab affairs and low score margins perhaps quite a few draws.
Group A - Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech.
Poland - Remember the good old days of Deyna, Lato and Boniek? Poland was that good from the 70s. Never ignore home ground advantage and a good economy but as co-host they lack competitive matches. Their main man is Arsenal goalie Wojciech Szczesny and striker Robert Lewandowski who scored 22 goals for Borussia Dortmund. They open against Greece and this could be considered their easiest after which they face Russia and Czech Republic. They must hope to beat Greece and snatch another win from the other two matches. May surprise with home ground advantage but they can be very good or quite bad.
Strengths: Home ground/midfield/attack. Weaknesses: Lack competition as host. Can be inconsistent.
Greece - Greek players are strong and well rested. They play a tight game and they were Champions of Europe before. Greece actually was impressive during qualification coming in first place over Croatia and undefeated. Their main star is Satoris Ninis. Their best chance may be against the Czechs. They are solid if unspectacular.
Strengths: Defensive organisation. Weaknesses: Do not score many goals.
Russia - No longer the same force they once were but Arshavin has been resurrected after leaving Arsenal. They conceded only four goals during qualification and is coached by Dutchman Dick Advocaat. Russia could surprise if they pull all the right strings. They will be hosting the 2018 World Cup and the rebuilding starts now. They actually have a strong team. I won't be surprise if they go all the way to the semi-finals.
Strengths: Team balance/Set-pieces. Weaknesses: Defence. Lack top scorer.
Czech - The Czechs were runners-up in 1996 and were in the semis in 2004. This time they got in through a play off. They have stalwarts in Chelsea's Petr Cech and Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky. It will be close between them and Poland.
Strengths: Good technical players, adaptable and organised. Weaknesses: Defence. Ageing players.
I think at a glance, Group A is the easiest group but they are almost of equal strengths and weaknesses, none particularly outstanding. Greece may surprise too but maybe not this time. It may be close for Poland and the CZech Republic. My pick would be in this order: 1) Russia, 2) Poland, 3) Czech, 4) Greece.
Group B - Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal.
Netherlands - They scored 37 goals during the qualifiers. Robbie van Persie was Arsenal's and the EPL's top scorer but was overshadowed by his compatriot Klaas Jan Huntelaar who got 12 goals. Sneijder has lost form but still dangerous with free-kicks and is supported by Rafael van Der Vart. Do not forget Bayern's top player Arjen Robben on the wings. Just hope they do not play like they did in the last World Cup Final under the same coach van Marwijk. Oranje is clearly one of the favourites.
Strengths: Midfield/Attack. Weaknesses: Defence. In-fighting.
Strengths: Midfield/Attack. Weaknesses: Defence. In-fighting.
Denmark - They topped the group containing Portugal. Much will depend on the defensive leadership of Liverpool's Daniel Agger and Simon Kjaer in defence. Christian Eriksen will play a key role in midfield. Manager Marten Olsen is the longest serving international manager around. Do not expect a repeat of 1992 but Denmark will remain among the world's happiest people in line with a survey.
Strengths: Midfield/Underdog tag. Weaknesses: Lack marquee players.
Strengths: Midfield/Underdog tag. Weaknesses: Lack marquee players.
Germany - Will Bayern Munich's loss to Chelsea affect them? The Germans are perhaps the greatest in the history winning 3 and being runners-up 3 times in the tournament. The Germans won all 10 matches to qualify. Mezut Ozil has the most assists in La Liga - 17 and he shone with Tomas Muller in the World Cup. They have Mario Gomez, Schurrle. Then there is Khedira, Marco Reus, and the talented Mario Gotze not to mention Klose and Podolski who were actually born Polish. Clear favourites in my opinion if you add their pedigree though the defence can be suspect. I'm impressed with their young players coming through the ranks. In case you are not aware, they are not a boring team but plays attacking soccer that even neutrals love. Take note that the Germans has a habit of winning a trophy if they missed narrowly at a previous attempt. This could be it!
Strengths: Midfield/Attack. Brimming with talent. Weaknesses: Defence.
Strengths: Midfield/Attack. Brimming with talent. Weaknesses: Defence.
Portugal - They had to endure a play off to get here but they have the best European footballer in Cristiano Ronaldo. Question is will he be too tired by now? The other is Man Utd's Nani. They are capable to spring a surprise on anyone but will they be over dependent on Ronaldo? Portugal can very good or ordinary. They have lost to Denmark during the qualifiers.
Strengths: Skillful players and an outstanding Ronaldo. Weaknesses: Lack depth.
This is the most difficult group and Denmark has no luck in the draw. So too Portugal. My take: 1) Germany, 2) Netherlands, 3) Portugal, 4) Denmark.
Strengths: Skillful players and an outstanding Ronaldo. Weaknesses: Lack depth.
This is the most difficult group and Denmark has no luck in the draw. So too Portugal. My take: 1) Germany, 2) Netherlands, 3) Portugal, 4) Denmark.
Group C - Spain, Italy, Ireland, Croatia.
Spain - Spain aka La Furia Roja is the team to beat. Under-achievers for such a long time they finally came good winning the previous Euro and the World Cup led by Vicente del Bosque. If they win again, they will be the only team ever to have won three major tournaments back to back. So, history is against them and they may be tired after a long season. They will also be without their all time top scorer David Villa and defence stalwart Carles Puyol. This could be Xavi's swansong in a major tournament. He could seal it as Europe and the World's best player but he has some troubles with injuries. Spain can get frustrated if you wear them out but still too strong. Remember, they still have abundance in Silva, Fabregas and Iniesta. If Brazilians play one touch-soccer, then the Spanish plays half-touch soccer.
Strengths: Pass masters. Dominates possession. Midfield wizardry. Weaknesses: Can get frustrated after much possession.
Italy - Italy has World Cup pedigree and have always bounced back from poor situation before a tournament but the match-fixing scandal have taken a toll. Veteran goalie Gianluigi Buffon is one of the world's best and forward Cassano can be a handful with less than 40 year old man Andrea Pirlo orchestrating midfield and the four year old Mario Balotelli. They could fire either way, remain affected and demoralised by the scandal or respond positively. They have just crumbled 0-3 at home to Russia in a friendly.
Strengths: Original masters of defence and strategic play but now a shadow of former self. Conceded only 2 goals during qualifiers . Midfield maestro Pirlo. Weaknesses: Match fixing scandal may have affected and demoralised them.
Croatia - Luka Modric will play a key role as striker Ivica Olic seems to be fading. They came in off a play off behind Greece. The Croats are actually very talented soccer players but they haven't been particularly strong in recent times. Watch our for Everton's Nikica Jelavic.
Strengths: Formerly Yugoslavia was called the Brazil of Europe. They have many technically gifted players. Weaknesses: Defence may be a concern and consistency.
Ireland - Italian Giovanni Trapattoni is the only manager who has won the European Cup, UEFA Cup, Cup Winner's Cup and the Intercontinental Cup and a winner with Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter, Salzburg and Benfica but he couldn't do the same with Italy. Can he do something special for Ireland? Robbie Keane is their main answer. They are probably the least fancied team who got in through a play off but they are organised and has strength in defence.
Strengths: Difficult to beat, organised, sound defence. Weaknesses: Do not create clear cut chances.
To me this is a more straight forward group. I expect the Italians to bounce back. My take is: 1) Spain, 2) Italy, 3) Croatia, 4) Ireland.
Spain - Spain aka La Furia Roja is the team to beat. Under-achievers for such a long time they finally came good winning the previous Euro and the World Cup led by Vicente del Bosque. If they win again, they will be the only team ever to have won three major tournaments back to back. So, history is against them and they may be tired after a long season. They will also be without their all time top scorer David Villa and defence stalwart Carles Puyol. This could be Xavi's swansong in a major tournament. He could seal it as Europe and the World's best player but he has some troubles with injuries. Spain can get frustrated if you wear them out but still too strong. Remember, they still have abundance in Silva, Fabregas and Iniesta. If Brazilians play one touch-soccer, then the Spanish plays half-touch soccer.
Strengths: Pass masters. Dominates possession. Midfield wizardry. Weaknesses: Can get frustrated after much possession.
Italy - Italy has World Cup pedigree and have always bounced back from poor situation before a tournament but the match-fixing scandal have taken a toll. Veteran goalie Gianluigi Buffon is one of the world's best and forward Cassano can be a handful with less than 40 year old man Andrea Pirlo orchestrating midfield and the four year old Mario Balotelli. They could fire either way, remain affected and demoralised by the scandal or respond positively. They have just crumbled 0-3 at home to Russia in a friendly.
Strengths: Original masters of defence and strategic play but now a shadow of former self. Conceded only 2 goals during qualifiers . Midfield maestro Pirlo. Weaknesses: Match fixing scandal may have affected and demoralised them.
Croatia - Luka Modric will play a key role as striker Ivica Olic seems to be fading. They came in off a play off behind Greece. The Croats are actually very talented soccer players but they haven't been particularly strong in recent times. Watch our for Everton's Nikica Jelavic.
Strengths: Formerly Yugoslavia was called the Brazil of Europe. They have many technically gifted players. Weaknesses: Defence may be a concern and consistency.
Ireland - Italian Giovanni Trapattoni is the only manager who has won the European Cup, UEFA Cup, Cup Winner's Cup and the Intercontinental Cup and a winner with Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter, Salzburg and Benfica but he couldn't do the same with Italy. Can he do something special for Ireland? Robbie Keane is their main answer. They are probably the least fancied team who got in through a play off but they are organised and has strength in defence.
Strengths: Difficult to beat, organised, sound defence. Weaknesses: Do not create clear cut chances.
To me this is a more straight forward group. I expect the Italians to bounce back. My take is: 1) Spain, 2) Italy, 3) Croatia, 4) Ireland.
Group D - Ukraine, Sweden, France, England.
Ukraine - As co-host they have home advantage. Their star is their aging captain Andriy Schenko and also their manager Oleg Blokhin is a legend who won the world best footballer title with USSR.
Strengths: Counter Attack. Weaknesses: Defence. Once much-feared Shevchenko is ageing and due to injury may have fitness problem.
Sweden - Sweden are no world beaters but they are a very difficult to beat. They have even beaten Holland during qualification. Striker Zlatan Ibramovich has scored 35 goals for AC Milan and an effective midfield of Kim Kallstrom and Sebastian Larsson. They may cause an upset.
Strengths: Hard working and organised. Not an easy team to play.
Weaknesses: Over-reliance on Kallstrom and Ibramovic.
France - Laurent Blanc has changed the team from the troubled one at the World Cup. Real Madrid's Karim Benzema will be a player to watch and they have M'Vila, Ribery, Patrice Evra, Gael Clichy, Yohan Cabeye, Samir Nasri, Ben Arfa and they can play a fluid game.
Strengths: Talented and potent midfield and attack. Weaknesses: Defence.
England - Left without a manager and then appointing one late, a flurry of injuries to key players has left the Three Lions completely short in all areas but this can work into an advantage as for once all the hype and pressure on them is gone as expectations has been lowered. Originally Lampard, Cahill, Terry and Cole were useful as they featured in Chelsea's most improbable win over Barcelona over two legs and that away win over Bayern so a Cahill/Terry partnership or Lescott/Jagielka one that kept Spain out in that win but Cahill has since withdraw due to the unfortunate injury v Belgium. I was surprised that Jagielka was called to replace Barry and then Liverpool's Martin Kelly, a rookie to replace Cahill. Ferdinand would have been great. Young and new players may surprise? They do have a superb goalie in Joe Hart. Defence will be key and they must hope to do a Chelsea.
England can be a different team if Gerrard soars with Parker picking up the pieces. Ashley Young is looking good and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain's future is very bright and he could feature. Andy Carroll could be a surprise as he was in fine form towards the season's end. Danny Welbeck scored a clever goal against Belgium. He would be more of a handful to the French while Carroll should be unleashed on Sweden and Ukraine.
You may not known this but Roy Hodgson once not only took Switzerland to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996, he has managed 16 teams in 8 countries. He also took the Swiss to their highest FIFA ranking ever - third in the world. He has served several times in FIFA and UEFA technical committee. Can he save a severely weakened England? England had beaten Spain last year and won in Norway for the first time in 32 years and beaten Belgium despite having only 41% possession.
Strengths: Goalie, defence. Counter-attack. Weaknesses: Lack fire power as Rooney is suspended. One-dimensional, predictable and a one-trick pony.
This is not an easy group. France has got past their debacle of the World Cup and is flourishing under Laurent Blanc. Many of their players are playing overseas and are on a 21 match unbeaten run. My prediction would be: 1) France, 2) England, 3) Sweden, 4) Ukraine.
Ukraine - As co-host they have home advantage. Their star is their aging captain Andriy Schenko and also their manager Oleg Blokhin is a legend who won the world best footballer title with USSR.
Strengths: Counter Attack. Weaknesses: Defence. Once much-feared Shevchenko is ageing and due to injury may have fitness problem.
Sweden - Sweden are no world beaters but they are a very difficult to beat. They have even beaten Holland during qualification. Striker Zlatan Ibramovich has scored 35 goals for AC Milan and an effective midfield of Kim Kallstrom and Sebastian Larsson. They may cause an upset.
Strengths: Hard working and organised. Not an easy team to play.
Weaknesses: Over-reliance on Kallstrom and Ibramovic.
France - Laurent Blanc has changed the team from the troubled one at the World Cup. Real Madrid's Karim Benzema will be a player to watch and they have M'Vila, Ribery, Patrice Evra, Gael Clichy, Yohan Cabeye, Samir Nasri, Ben Arfa and they can play a fluid game.
Strengths: Talented and potent midfield and attack. Weaknesses: Defence.
England - Left without a manager and then appointing one late, a flurry of injuries to key players has left the Three Lions completely short in all areas but this can work into an advantage as for once all the hype and pressure on them is gone as expectations has been lowered. Originally Lampard, Cahill, Terry and Cole were useful as they featured in Chelsea's most improbable win over Barcelona over two legs and that away win over Bayern so a Cahill/Terry partnership or Lescott/Jagielka one that kept Spain out in that win but Cahill has since withdraw due to the unfortunate injury v Belgium. I was surprised that Jagielka was called to replace Barry and then Liverpool's Martin Kelly, a rookie to replace Cahill. Ferdinand would have been great. Young and new players may surprise? They do have a superb goalie in Joe Hart. Defence will be key and they must hope to do a Chelsea.
England can be a different team if Gerrard soars with Parker picking up the pieces. Ashley Young is looking good and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain's future is very bright and he could feature. Andy Carroll could be a surprise as he was in fine form towards the season's end. Danny Welbeck scored a clever goal against Belgium. He would be more of a handful to the French while Carroll should be unleashed on Sweden and Ukraine.
You may not known this but Roy Hodgson once not only took Switzerland to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996, he has managed 16 teams in 8 countries. He also took the Swiss to their highest FIFA ranking ever - third in the world. He has served several times in FIFA and UEFA technical committee. Can he save a severely weakened England? England had beaten Spain last year and won in Norway for the first time in 32 years and beaten Belgium despite having only 41% possession.
Strengths: Goalie, defence. Counter-attack. Weaknesses: Lack fire power as Rooney is suspended. One-dimensional, predictable and a one-trick pony.
This is not an easy group. France has got past their debacle of the World Cup and is flourishing under Laurent Blanc. Many of their players are playing overseas and are on a 21 match unbeaten run. My prediction would be: 1) France, 2) England, 3) Sweden, 4) Ukraine.
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