www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

Phew! It is over! It has been a good Euro 2012. The refereeing standard has been good, except for that England goal mouth incident which can't be avoided. The quality of soccer was generally high so please tell Mr. Michel Platini that as much as I like him as a player, I do not quite understand him as an official in wanting to extend the competition to more teams like the World Cup which will eventually dilute the quality.  All Euro Championship and the World Cup were once just for the last sixteen and it should always remain that way. What needed to be changed in soccer urgency is the introduction of goal-line technology. Euro 2012 Final Spain v Italy  When I saw how Italy played England and later tore apart favourites Germany, I was totally convinced that they would beat Spain if Espanol maintained their pre-Final performances because the Italians were simply awesome!  Italy One observation I made was that can't UEFA make it more even in terms of re...

I paid for it! I confessed and even though I paid for it I am still paying the price. I am now thinking about the future. Should I quit? It's not about sex scandals that you read about everyday! It is more serious than that. It's soccer and the Euro 2012. I did not really think I could survive this ordeal and on a few days took leave and even played some golf. There was a 26 year-old guy in China who watched the Euro every night and then went to work. He probably didn't sleep at all. He died unfortunately.  It is not about life and death, it is more serious than that!  That was what Shankly once said and Brian Clough once said that if football was meant to be played in the sky and the clouds than God would have put grass there. England must reinvent using the wisdom of Shankly and Clough. 1st Semi-Final - Spain v Portugal The match promised much but delivered little. If you just think of the skills of the players and most people were thinking it would be end to...

Opening match jitters are common and you are just warming up to the big occasion. You want to win but do not wish to loose. First matches are often drab and cautious until the first goal is scored. The irony is that in this kind of format you must not loose the first game or you will be left playing catch up adding more pressure to your team. with this in mind, let's gaze into the crystal ball.....  Group A - 1st Matches Poland v Greece - Poland has home ground advantage. Their economy is doing better than most. They can be very good or quite bad but their strength is in attack while Greece is completely unspectacular and when they win it's 1-0. Not sure if they are demoralised by their economy. The Greeks are technically sound in defence but they hardly scored. So it is offence v defence. 1 -0 . Russia v Czech - Russia has a good defence while the Czechs are unpredictable. Both have great heritage. Russian strength is in offense - think Pavlyuchenko ...

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. Ex...

These were the recent soccer friendly results of some Euro 2012 finalists:  Spain 2 Serbia 0 - Not the full Spanish squad nor the usual game where Spain would dominate but good enough for a clear win. Their all-time top scorer David Villa will be absent due to injury and will be missed but they do have the "others". Switzerland 5 Germany 3 - All Bayern Munich players were rested. After suffering such a devastating blow to Chelsea can the Germans rise again so soon after? Never underestimate the Germans for they have been at the top more often than any other. It was however a bit worrying as this was the first Swiss win after 56 years! Someone should be trying to sign Swiss international Eren Derdiyok for bagging a clinical hattrick against the Germans. When was the last time Germany conceded 5 goals in a game? Do not read too much into it. Netherlands 1 Bulgaria 2 - The Dutch were in their famous "Orangje" but this time full orange. They played well as typ...

What a game that morning! Congrats to Chelsea! How many teams can beat Barcelona over two legs? Yet Bayern playing on home soil has to be favourites especially with Chelsea 6th in EPL  and missing 4 players including their captain. When Muller scored in he 83rd, many would have thought it was over. Didier Drogba powered home an unstoppable header which Neuer got a hand to in the 88th but could not stop to bring it into extra-time. Then Drogba played villain when he carelessly tripped Ribery but Cech saved the penalty. When Philip Lahm scored the first penalty in sudden death and Juan Mata's got saved, again we thought it was over. To win in this situation on penalty kicks against the Germans? No way! Cech saved from Olic then Cole scored perhaps the most well taken penalty to level before Bastian Schwesteinger hit a post and Drogba hit the final nail! He was amazing when he first turned out for Marseille and continued till now. This has implication for England. Ashley Cole...