UEFA Euro 2008 - Austria/Switzerland

[The Swan]

So, this is the Official Page:
EURO 2008
First Match: Saturday 7 June 2008.

I "MUST" say ITALIA!!! 2006 World Champion!!! 4 Stars.
... and if Del Piero will play like he knows... WOW!!!
But I think Germany will be an excellent Team too!!!
What about you guys? 8)

[turnbull_badger]

Well seeing as that ginger moron Steve Mclaren ruined the hopes of England qualifying let alone winning, i'll be backing Spain to win the tournament. They've got such a good squad i just can't see anyone else winning, not even italy.

[The Swan]

Spain??? Why not, but those Guys during these Events "dissolve"... and you know what I mean.
But once again, if Del Piero will play like he knows... OMG!!!
I'd like this Final: Italia-France... yeah AGAIN!!! But, No Penalties... 8)
Anyway: Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Czech Republic and Croatia... well, they will be very "dangerous" too!!!
Oh... and Greece??? 8)

[turnbull_badger]

Germany, France and Italy will be dangerous but i'm not sure abount the others. Holland always seem to do badly for some reason despite having world class strikers, Sweden have no good players and the Czech Republic only have one good player which is Rosicky.
As for Croatia i think they'll do Ok for the first game or two but then i think they'll crumble without Eduardo as he's their main striker.

[Journey]

Sweden have no good players

Really? I wasn't aware that Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic weren't actually Swedish.

Regardless of King Henrik's age, he will still be a force to be reckoned with. I mean, he pretty much turned Mancherter United's season around the year before last, there is a reason why Sir Alex desperately wanted him around after he announced he was heading back to Helsingborgs.

And Ibrahimovic... If he really turns on the style then there aren't many more dominant players in European football than him.

[turnbull_badger]

Larsson is on his last legs and i think he'll struggle and as for Ibrahimovic, well i forgot about him lol. He's a good player (well i guess you have to be to play for Inter) but he isn't the most consistent player.

[The Swan]

Ibrahimovic can also be a Great Talent, but to me, in today's Football, "One Player Only" cannot lead his Team to the Cup. 

[turnbull_badger]

"One Player Only" cannot lead his Team to the Cup. 

Exactly. I don't think Sweden have enough talent throughout their whole squad.

[Journey]

Not strictly true, Maradona won the World Cup in 1986, essentially single-handedly (No-pun intended) so it's not impossible and he came up against much stronger opposition than in today's game. I'm not saying any player in this tournament is even close to Maradona's skill level though, so the event of one player essentially winning the tournament on his own is highly unlikely.

Tell me this though, last European Championships, how many of the Greek players did you guys even know the names of other than possibly Karagounis? Teams don't have to have big names to win tournaments, it has been proven. You can't discount anyone.

Just don't be surprised if Sweden ruffle a few feathers this year.

[turnbull_badger]

The Greek team did so well because most of their players play for the same club team so they get a lot of practice together and build teamwork, its the same with Croatia too, a lot of their players play for Zagreb.

[The Swan]

About Maradona, well he was maybe "The Ancient of a Last Breed"... many loved him, many hated him... but we have to say he was.

About Greek, we have to give the Right Credit to those Players, they were a sorta "Solid Gang"... but, IMO, and I don't want to offend any Greek Friend, "Not Even" Them know HOW They Won!!! The Portugal Players know How, but the Greeks... DON'T!!! 8)

[Journey]

The Greek team did so well because most of their players play for the same club team so they get a lot of practice together and build teamwork, its the same with Croatia too, a lot of their players play for Zagreb.

Not anymore, they used to have a lot of players who played for Dinamo Zagreb.

Guys like Olic, Modric, Corluka, Kranjcar and Eduardo (although he obviously won't be playing) have all moved on with Modric being the last to go this summer. Other than that I'm pretty sure they don't actually have integral national players who play for them anymore.

[turnbull_badger]

oh yeah, only 2 of their international players play for Dinamo now that Modric has gone to Spurs.
I still believe that Croatia wont do too well in Euro 2008 despite having some class players, but i'm pretty sure they'll give England a problem when the World Cup qualifyers come around.
.

[Journey]

Yea, I watched them against Scotland and they were a really classy team, passed the ball well and created a good amount of chnces, even without their best player in Eduardo. They're a team to be feared no doubt.

[Ed_The_Warrior]

Yeah still pretty gutted England are'nt gonna be in the euros  But fingers crossed this should still be a pretty good tournament,as for whos gonna win thats a real tough one,i can see maybe a outsider coming threw again as Greece did a few years back !?! Enjoy it folks & good luck to your teams