Euro-08...AM l'aimant !

Euro-08 can’t get any bigger, can it?....TV headlines screamin’…’Battle for Europe’, commentators goin’ ga-ga over every pass, every move…new playmakers havin’ emerged, the regulars havin’ justified why they are wooed by every other major club for crazy millions, the shrewd coaches with mixed loyalties, the crowds which have been exhileratin’…n well what ‘bout us? We,the millions out there in the world who sit in the four-corners of a room watchin’ all our heroes battlin’ for European Supremacy…what’s in it for us?....if you ask me, its SHEER ECSTASY! :-)
The way the first half of Euro-08 has unfolded…its nothin’ but pure tintillatin’ joy of watchin’ some brilliant display of talent, a talent that changes the lives of lot many a people associated with the game!...Hail Euro, My Salutations! :-)

We saw the superb games like Netherlands-Italy, Germany-Croatia, Russia-Sweden, Portugal-Czech Republic, the drab ones involving Switzerland, Austria, Romania n well surprisingly defending champions Greece n the last FIFA runners up France…The former three teams can atleast be forgiven for the losses as they are all emerging teams n they did show part of good talent here n there…but Greece & France??? Lemme include the Czechs too… Not excusable!

The Greeks have proved that their last Euro win was nothing but a fluke…they didn’t look like they were defending the title in any of their games…am not speakin’ more of them here…total disappointment!
‘Bout France, well what can I say…despite having players like Lillian Thuriam n Thierre Henry in their ranks, they’ve always somehow failed to click as a team(n this is the team which had Zinadine Zidane once upon a time!) …time for a REVAMP Team France :-)!!!
Czechs…looked extremely promising, were great to watch in their game against Portugal…simply lost momentum and failed to hold onto their nerves when it mattered the most in their later games…but well, it was juz a one-off tournament for them…I’d still count them as one of the good teams in the world of soccer!
We saw some awesome in-form teams in Euro-08 this time around…Spain, Croatia, Netherlands, Portugal…they played well in most of their games(tho’ Portugal is out now)…if somebody has noticed, am not talkin’ bout Germany & Italy here, the reason bein’, their path to the quarters hasn’t exactly been smooth…I can say they ‘JUST SURVIVED’!

RUSSIA…well, what can I say! I think ill take back my cynical comment the last time around when I said, they did not deserve to be here at the cost of England…they were in one word ‘OUTSTANDING’ in their game Vs Sweden…watch out for Arashavin, he’s good :-)…the Swedes were left clueless, nothin’ workin for them…be it the attack or the defence, Russians simply outshone them in all departments of the game! Good tactics Mr.Luus Giddink :-)

Players like Edwin van der sar, Podolski, Luka, David Villa, Nistelrooy, Andrei, all from different nationalities have made Euro-08 a treat for every soccer lover!

Coming back to the first of the quarter-finals yesterday, Germany Vs Portugal, both pre-tournament favourites to win EURO-08, the former a good but unpredictable team under Chelsea star Micheal Ballack, the other having one of the world’s best player Cristiano Ronaldo…what a game! A treat for the eyes for a true-blue soccer fan like me :-)
Score reads: Germany 3-Portugal 2, n out go Portugal losing again under pressure, a repeat of last FIFA…but am not sad, coz the men who made it for Germany were KLoSe & BaLLAcK (Oops sorry for the small-big letter combo…u see I juz lose it when I hear their names…I absolutely swoon over them for… their talent ofcourse! ;-)
They are amazing players…Bayern Munich & Chelsea must be proud to have them…both fired headers into the goal past the very agile Ricardo…they were backed by brilliant passes by Podolski n Bastian ofcourse…Bastian (was brilliant in this game) firing one good one too, for once the German attack n defence did not falter, they kept a good check on Ronaldo…tho’ Ronaldo looked dangerous throughout, he somehow did not get enough support from the others…I juz came to a very subtle realization tho’….Ronaldo definitely is one of the BEST players in the world right now…its not juz his dribble, but his attitude…UNSELFISH! Not many all time great players play that way…biggest one being Diego Maradona…Superb talent but a very selfish player (My apologies Maradona fans, its juz my view!)… sorry Captain Nuno Gomes, for all your team’s fabulous display of grit, Portugal had to go!:-)

Germans…well up ur attack a lil’ bit, defend well, have a 4-3-2-2 combo if possible n u could go on to win the tournament! Good Luck!:-)

Watch out Croatia Vs Turkey today…am favouring Croatia for the day:-)

That’s all I have for today…
‘n’ now here’s Amari summing up the first half of Euro-08 with the following words…

“ They came, they played…some fought, some flew…few shone, few faded…what remains is what we’ll see”!!!!

One tournament, One Winner…n that only Time…nah Ill TELL!;-)

N for all those who are still wonderin’ what am talking about…well, the game’s not for you! Crude but true!….
Cheerio!

Adios Amigos,
Amari