OFFICIAL EURO 2008 THREAD

[HD]

Smegma: If not us, it will be Germany, but i'm not too worried about them after that Croatia game - i think will edge them out.

You're forgetting one thing: Germans tend to become stronger during major tournaments game after game.

yeah and other teams who were fantastic in the first round but were suddenly out when the important games came (like Argentinia in 06)  and that's the danger for Holland
In one game everything is possible, so don't rely too much on these first games.

true thats what im scared of
it can just go wrong all of a sudden in a game

[Lunatic]

^that's the beauty of a tournament like this, 1 bad game and u could be done (well 100% done if its not group stage still lol).

[Furor Teutonicus]

Smegma: If not us, it will be Germany, but i'm not too worried about them after that Croatia game - i think will edge them out.

You're forgetting one thing: Germans tend to become stronger during major tournaments game after game.

yeah and other teams who were fantastic in the first round but were suddenly out when the important games came (like Argentinia in 06)  and that's the danger for Holland
In one game everything is possible, so don't rely too much on these first games.

True, but I think that Ivory Coast and Serbia & Montenegro are not quite as good as Italy and France

yup. But Ivory Coast could beat them both atm

[Lunatic]

yup. But Ivory Coast could beat them both atm

LOL both have looked bad

[wcsoldier]

y'all make me laugh , you're acting like both Italy and France are on the same level as Luxembourg.. y'all realize Netherlands offense is on another planet right ? Of course both teams have been dissapointed but the Dutch have been just INCREDIBLE when it comes to efficiency ...when you can bring a Robben and a V. Persie off the bench , you know it's not your regular team ... and Romania is very solid ... LOL at Ivory Coast beating Italy and France , even right now

[smegma]

y'all make me laugh , you're acting like both Italy and France are on the same level as Luxembourg..

Yeah, seriously. France didn't suck at all last night.

[Lunatic]

LOL relax last 2 posters, im pretty sure he was being sarcastic

[Furor Teutonicus]

LOL at Ivory Coast beating Italy and France , even right now

I was not sarcastic- do you guys know how strong Ivory Coast is. Matter of fact, Italy and France look ridiculous now, basicially because their teams are too old or the younger pkayers are weak (or atleast they look weak to me.) and I blame both coaches for that.
Italy has an excuse because Nesta Cannavaro were their insurance for the last few years, andthey can't replace them. But wtf is this with washed-up guys like Panucci. Also, they had some bad luck against Romania.
France played ok yesterday- but besides Ribery their offence looked horrible. How can Domenech leave Trezeguet at home and take pussies like Anelka and malouda. And bring guys like Gomis instead of Nasri and Benzema. Their defence is even worse. Sagnol (who was ok yesterday), Makelele and Thuram? OK Viera is injured, he was the big leader besides Zidane, and maybe the only one who has enough balls to lead this team, but still... Domenech and Donadoni both didn't have the courage to sort out old players, and made some weird decisions before and during the tournament. We had the same thing with Völler- he also didn't make the cut...
Matter of fact Ivory Coast would probably beat their actual line-up. Imagine what guys like Toure and Drogba would do with Thuram. Ivory Coast was already strong in the last World Cup and if you saw the last Africa-Cup you would know how strong they are. Their only problem is still that they need too many shots to score.

[Furor Teutonicus]

Portugal is also up there but they depend on Ronaldo too much.

sorry but this is pure bullshit.

[Lunatic]

Portugal is also up there but they depend on Ronaldo too much.

sorry but this is pure bullshit.

exactly
5 goals - 5 different goal scorers (Ronaldo, Quaresma, Deco, Pepe, Merierles)

[Lunatic]

btw good win for Russia - not that I actually think they have a shot against Sweden, but will make the match up more interesting.

[Meho]

What I meant by that if Ronaldo doesn't play= Portugal is an average team.

[Lunatic]

What I meant by that if Ronaldo doesn't play= Portugal is an average team.

can be said for half of the greatest teams - look at Italy without Cannavaro right now.

I dunno why, but some of our best players seem to fly under the radar - Simao, Deco, Carvalho, Bosingwa, Pepe, Quaresma, Nani, Ferreira are all world class players.

[Furor Teutonicus]

What I meant by that if Ronaldo doesn't play= Portugal is an average team.

can be said for half of the greatest teams - look at Italy without Cannavaro right now.

I dunno why, but some of our best players seem to fly under the radar - Simao, Deco, Carvalho, Bosingwa, Pepe, Quaresma, Nani, Ferreira are all world class players.

yup. Ronaldo is important, but what makes them more than average is the defense. Ferreira and Carvalho are two world class defenders, and Pepe already proved his skills. Now show me a team with a better defense than that? I think the point you mentioned is exactly the difference to former Porugal teams- everything depended on Deco and Figo. Now the roster has way more depth because of young guys like Nani ,Quaresma or Moutinho who seem to have potential,  Scolari has many options for offense and defense.  Besides the goalie, the only weakness may be the lack of a pure goalgetter like van Nistelroy or Toni.

[Lunatic]

What I meant by that if Ronaldo doesn't play= Portugal is an average team.

can be said for half of the greatest teams - look at Italy without Cannavaro right now.

I dunno why, but some of our best players seem to fly under the radar - Simao, Deco, Carvalho, Bosingwa, Pepe, Quaresma, Nani, Ferreira are all world class players.

yup. Ronaldo is important, but what makes them more than average is the defense. Ferreira and Carvalho are two world class defenders, and Pepe already proved his skills. Now tell me who has a better defense than that? I think the point you mentioned is exactly the difference to former Porugal teams- everything depended on Deco and Figo. Now the roster has way more depth because of young guys like Nani ,Quaresma or Moutinho who seem to have potential,  Scolari has many options for offense and defense.  Besides the goalie, the only weakness may be the lack of a pure goalgetter like van Nistelroy or Toni.

Yeah our defense is great - don't forget Bosingwa, he's the most slept on but trust me when I say Bosingwa > Ferreira..he's actually been our best defender this tournament imo - no wonder Chelsea just spent all that cash on him

Oh yeah we are very deep - I forgot to mention Mountinho and Miguel Veloso hasnt even got on the field yet, wait til he does. Yeah the goalie isn't great and we have literally no striker pretty much, that's the team weakness.