I said it before but it deserves to be said again: Euro 2008 was the best international tournament I’ve ever seen. Lots of goals, lots of late goals, general fair play all around, fairly decent refereeing, and a worthy champion. Not often do you get that. This unparalleled success means, of course, that UEFA wants to muck with it by expanding to 20 or 24 teams. That means more money, but more crappy games and more tired legs. Let’s hope that for once common sense trumps greed and they keep it at 16—but I’m not holding my breath.

Phil Ball and I agree again on many points as his article “The Best Team Won (for a change)” echoes a lot my sentiments from yesterday: that the cheats and whiners went home early, that Spain deserved everything they got, that the German team wasn’t as good as they let on, and that indeed, politics always plays some kind of role in regards to forming a national team. Amusingly, idiot Jamie Trecker’s report on the final shows that the man never came to grips with the idea that the Spanish team were actually quite handy all through the tournament and that Germany was neither the favorite nor really all that good. But it’s morons like him that lead to MSN headlines like “Spain Stuns Italy in Quarterfinals” and “Spain Stuns Germany in final.” Um. No. These weren’t upsets—unless of course you believe that Spain really never was that good.

Which of course begs the question, if you thought the Spanish really weren’t that good then how did they rack up a 22-game unbeaten streak that has included victories over France, Italy (twice), England, and now Germany? And where did this unfounded faith in Germany come from? They had a flapper for a goalkeeper to thank for their narrow 3-2 win over Portugal and needed a last-gasp goal from a defender to beat the Turkish B team. Can someone please send a telegram to Mr. Trecker to say he’s a bit behind the times when writes that Spain “might finally be in position to make a stern challenge soccer’s old guard for a place among the international elite” (emphasis mine). It’s probably best just to ignore everything this man has to say. I only read him for the masochistic pleasure of hating everything he writes.

And while I like Fox Soccer Channel’s Nick Webster, his Euro 2008 Best XI has some strange omissions. Erm, Xavi anyone? Not only did he make the Spanish midfield tick, he also picked up the small honor of Player of the Tournament. Looking up top, Pavlyuchenko and van Nistelrooy are Nick’s strikers? Pavlyuchenko had an awful goals-to-chances ratio and the horse-faced Dutchman only scored twice—one being the infamous offside goal against Italy and the other in the losing effort to Russia. Seems a tad odd to leave out David Villa, the tournament’s top scorer who bagged a classy hat-trick against Russia and snatched the last-second winner against Sweden, a goal I would argue did plenty to raise Spain’s confidence level.

Back to Englishman Phil Ball: I love how he ends his article with this pot-shot: “Spain’s win has been about good technique and imagination - something that the English, for all their boasting about their over-hyped and inflated Premier League, would do well to note.” I have long believed that the Premier League, while being wildly entertaining, is not miles better than Spain’s La Liga, which I feel is a better league top to bottom. Note to self: find time to watch more Spanish football this year.

Current Mood: Correcting the Opinions of Others is Hard Work |

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Well, there you have it. The perfect ending to an almost impossibly perfect tournament. How is it that a major tournament rewards open, attacking play and the cheats, whiners, and negative teams get early tickets home? That just doesn’t happen. Except it did.

Spain utterly deserved every one of their victories. They finished with a +9 goal difference and scored in every game but one—where they almost outshot their negative opponent 3-to-1. Unlike the counterattack teams that frustrate the opposition by bunkering in, Spain frustrated the opposition by passing the ball at will through the midfield. True, it often stalled at the penalty box, but there’s something demoralizing about a team that passes through you. If you won’t believe that, ask a German.

I held my breath for the last half-hour as it seemed like a German equalizer must be on the cards, not because they deserved it but because Spain had squandered chances to seal the game at 2, 3, or 4 to nil. The Germans looked most threatening when they abandoned their passing and just lumped high balls into the box; Spain looked most threatening whenever they had the ball. And how brilliant was El Niño’s goal? Torres had a bit of a stinker for a tournament but I think he’ll take his champion’s medal for scoring the winner in the final, thank you very much.

In truth, this was a very average German team, much like the one that willed its way into the final at the 2002 World Cup. Germans know how to win games but today the gap in class showed. And also a note to Michael Ballack: cheaters never prosper. Look, tons of folks love this guy but I think he’s a dirty player (note the half-dozen deliberately late challenges today and his shove-off on Ferrera in the Portugal game for the winner) who is not above taking a dive, play-acting, or trying to get another player sent off for an innocuous foul. I don’t like him and could give two turds that he’s never won any of the Big Trophies.

So hats off to Spain, a team that comes only second in my heart to the US. Spain has a cake World Cup qualifying schedule, so 2010 should be interesting considering most of these players will still be in good health. With Aragonés stepping down, the next big question is whether Vicente del Bosque can step up? Considering the fantastic job he did with Real Madrid not too long ago, I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Rant

Before I conclude, I need to take yet another swipe at one of America’s most ignorant pundits, @!#$ing idiot Jamie Trecker who explains why Spain has never really been any good and Germany’s long history of success makes this game a mismatch. Per usual, Trecker’s facile analysis (in which he takes a swipe at “lazy media” no less) does not take into account the historical fact that Spain, as a country, has had its share of inner turmoil. The Catalans and Galicians don’t like the Madrileños and the Basques don’t get on with anybody. It makes it hard to put a team together when half the squad is at each other’s throats for political reasons, and the fact that a dictator (who was partial to certain regions) ran the country until 1976 might explain while the populous hasn’t gotten behind the national team. See, but the Spaniards are absolutely wild about their club teams—teams who largely try to sign local players, hence that whole “provincial” thing that seems pretty important to Spaniards. Which would be an entirely logical explanation of why Spain’s club teams have mopped up the competition over the last forty years with outrageous talent while the national side, with those same players, has underachieved. But I would hate to point at any particular journalist and suggest that he was lazy. I’d rather call him a @!#$ing idiot.

Current Mood: ¡Viva España! |

After two weeks of non-stop soccer-watching bliss, it’s all coming to an end on Sunday. I would suggest that this would lead to an upturn in productivity but I just got GTA 4 in the mail yesterday, having bought it on eBay for $35…

After a month-long hiatus, I listened to the second half of Owen Wister’s The Virginian and finished it yesterday. My verdict: not very good. It’s widely regarded as the first Western published, and I expected more cattle rustling and villain foiling rather than protracted courtship scenes.

There are many problems with this book (especially for a pinko lefty reader such as myself) but politics aside, there is a massive problem with the title character. It won’t surprise you to learn that the Virginian is a real man’s man, one who knows right from wrong and doesn’t need law or religion to understand the world, and of course he’s the guy nearly everyone in the book looks up to—if not upon their initial meeting, then over time. The problem? He never makes a mistake. Basically, everything he says is true and everything he does turns out to be the correct thing to have done. This makes for extremely dull reading, but the book does an excellent job describing both the American West and the kind of man (and to a lesser extent, woman) it takes to settle there.

Which is why casually rereading Blood Meridian alongside it has been so enjoyable. Against the flawless, chivalrous Virginian you get McCarthy’s ultra-violent kid, and McCarthy depicts a very different kind of American West and the kind of men who inhabited it. My next audio book is going to be Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage, another classic Western, and I’m starting The Orchard Keeper by McCarthy in hard copy. And I’m continuing to read Blood Meridian, because I love it.

I’m also working on rewriting the novel I wrote last summer and lo! ’tis way more work than I expected. I knew minor repair work would be needed but I underestimated the extent of the job. To belabor the construction metaphor, I believe the novel is structurally sound but it’s fleshing out every scene, removing clunky dialogue, and smoothing out the storyline so the beginning actually points to the ending that’s taking much longer than I expected.

My goal is to get a revised draft in front of my summer reading group by July 31st. It’s going to be tight.

Current Mood: Fine |

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Well, another match between Spain and Russia and another three-goal margin of victory. Back in the group stages you might remember Spain going through a naïve Russian side like a buzz saw to the tune of 4-1. Tonight’s 3-0 was perhaps a little less spectacular but no less definitive.

The rain dampened the affair (no pun intended) as the Spanish were clearly struggling to kick the game into gear with the slick surface. No one could quite get their footing or weigh the passes correctly, and the first half was nothing to write home about. Russia had far fewer, but better, chances whereas the Spanish passed the ball as nicely as ever but increasingly ran out of ideas around the penalty area. Their long-range shooting has been off all tournament and that didn’t change tonight.

The Russians looked a bit timid tonight, and you’d have thought that they would have had a real go a la the Turks last night, but I think the hiding they got earlier must have been a deep psychological blow because they never looked threatening. Xavi’s brilliant opener paved the way for a second half of Spanish dominance. 4-0 or 5-0 always looked more likely than 2-1 or 3-2 as the Russians just didn’t seem to have any umph, and you need that you know. Güiza’s delicate goal was delightful as well Silva’s control in the final goal, and for people who haven’t played soccer it’s hard to describe just how hard it is to do what these fellas make look so easy.

Where next? The final against Germany of course, which should be cracker. This one didn’t live up to the hype and expect the final to be more of a chess match than a track meet, but the Spanish haven’t done well against crosses (which the Germans have excelled at) and the Germans haven’t coped well with fast passing through the midfield (which the Spanish have been doing for two weeks now). My prediction: there will be goals. That’s it. I’ll be deliriously happy if Spain wins of course, but Germany would be a worthy champion too. Like I said to a friend after the game, the final is going to come down to who plays better on the day. Neither defense has to be comfortable looking at the opposition’s scoring threats and I just can’t see this being a conservative 0-0 draw with extra time and penalties (knocking on wood).

Either way, this has been a fantastic tournament and I will be quite sad for it to end.

Current Mood: Contemplating the End |

My word.

Everybody on the planet expected a cakewalk for Germany over the Turks, who have been defying the odds more or less since their first match at Euro 2008. I for one thought that the Germans, who looked pretty damn good against Portugal, would run right through the Turkish team weakened by injuries, suspensions, and generally punching above their weight. Well, that storyline wasn’t to be.

Turkey owned, absolutely owned Germany in the opening twenty minutes, rattling the woodwork once (should’ve been in) and scoring another. (Which also begs the question—when exactly did Mad Jens lose it? He’s been awfully shaky this tournament, although this hasn’t been a tournament you could use to advertise organized defending and sturdy goalkeeping.) Of course the Germans, being Germans, struck back almost immediately through a nifty chip by Schweinsteiger, who has been Germany’s best player by a country mile. The second half opened with more German domination and, ho-hum, when does the German goal come to finally knock this second-string Turkish team out?

Well, the goal comes in the 80th minute (tragically missed on TV by a global network outage) and it’s another German win. Except it isn’t, because in the 86th minute Turkey scores (another massive flub my Lehman and also tragically missed on TV by another global outage), and you just have to shake your head. Like Lazarus, there’s just no keeping Turkey down.

Unless of course you’re the Germans and you bury a #%$ing dagger into the heart of an entire nation when your left back romps up the field and friggin’ roofs the ball in the 90th minute (which gloriously was televised live).

Can you believe this tournament? I certainly can’t. Even if the other semifinal and the final turn out to be dogs, this has been the best tournament I have ever watched in my life. Eleven goals in four quarterfinal matches? And now five in a semifinal. Folks, that’s just unheard of. This game, like nearly all of the others, was played in an open, honest, and attacking fashion. Rhetorical question time: why can’t soccer always be this good?

Current Mood: Not Believing What I’m Seeing |

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My word, the always-excellent Phil Ball and I have certainly have a lot in common when it comes to our taste in football, especially the Spanish kind. Phil wrote his article Curse Busters about Spain’s victory over Italy on June 23, and I posted my commentary “Justice for All” a day before, and followed it with “Begging to Differ,” in which I point out why Jamie Trecker got it (and always gets it) wrong.

Really, check out Ball’s article. The man knows Spain and Spanish football in and out, and I wish I could have watched the game with him. Some choice quotes that mirror things I said in my posts:

* The great thing about Sunday night’s game is that the Spanish played it faithful to their own instincts about football, as did Italy to theirs. In the end, for a change, the gods of fortune got it right.

* The referee was also doing his best to don a white shirt and officially proclaim himself Italy’s 12th man. And as expected, Spain took possession of the game and tried to win it, whereas Italy made a few vague patterns in the centre of the field and tried to hoof the ball to the awful Luca Toni…

* At least [Spain] tried to play football.

* The Spanish are romantics, and prefer to indulge in beauty (or something approaching it) on the football pitch…

* Spain were trying to win. It was Italy who were cheating - constantly interrupting the Spanish flow…

And much much more good stuff. The only thing we disagree on was substituting Torres for Güiza, a move Phil liked and I did not. But that means I’m in total agreement with the other 96% of what he said. Further proof that certain journalists talk sense while other so-called journalists just talk…

In other exciting news (for me at least) I donned my boots and played my first round of pickup in about six months, since injuring my knee playing indoor. The PA and PT people I’ve been seeing since March diagnosed me with having patellofemoral pain syndrome, which basically meant my kneecap was grinding when under strain and causing the sharp pain. I’ve been doing specific exercises to retrain the muscles in my leg to get the kneecap back on track and things have been going very well. I still get jolts of pain now and then, but for the most part I’ve been feeling good while working out.

I have an appointment tomorrow and, since I’ve been ramping things up, I figured I should give it a little test. I played for about an hour with complete success—in regards to knee pain anyway. I’m quite rusty, my touch is poor, and I was winded within minutes. (Doing 30-45 minutes on the treadmill 3-4 times per week doesn’t get you in shape for the frequent sprinting soccer requires.) But I did have a nice touch once in awhile and scored one nice goal, and so I didn’t completely embarrass myself. We played 4 vs. 4 which is pretty intense and there’s nowhere to hide, and there were two guys who were considerably worse than I was so I didn’t feel too bad. The problem is that when the legs go, everything goes…and the legs go awfully quick at 34.

Anyway, I’m quite happy that things went so well and I’ll be interested to hear what they say at PT tomorrow…

Current Mood: Bushed but Happy |

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Mark your calendars: it’s time to disagree with reigning clown Jamie Trecker once again.

Look, I won’t quibble with his opinion that Italy vs. Spain was a flop when it could have sizzled, but I think it’s highly unfair to claim that Spain was equally guilty for playing dour, gloomy football. Quotes like “both would have been better off if they had eased up on the reins in midfield, and just gone out to try to win rather than deciding not to lose” make me scratch my head. I just can’t figure Trecker out, since he’s smarter than this—isn’t he?

It seems patently obvious that the reason Spain did not go forward more than they did is because they did not want Italy to get a goal on the counter-attack and then sandbag for the remaining time (whether that might be 5 or 85 minutes) and the reason Italy did not go forward is because they thought they would lose an out-and-out slugfest with the Spanish midfield. Both were probably correct but it was the case (as repeatedly stated by Andy Gray during the match) that Italy was not going to play. I don’t think it’s fair or realistic to say that Spain, who out-shot Italy 27 to 12 and had at least two penalty appeals denied, wanted the game to go to penalties—especially considering Spain’s woeful track record from the spot.

Please explain to me how Trecker remains a “featured” analyst. He roundly criticizes Major League Soccer yet his solutions to fixing the league’s problems involve staggering amounts of money that no one has, and his criticism of Spain vs. Italy is “gee, these teams should have played all out offense because that would have been fun to watch.” Comments from Football365’s mailbox include “Spain had nearly 3 times as many shots on goal, and that is counting the weak excuses for attempts from Toni. When the Italians play in this typical way, I can’t help but wonder if they even like the game at all” and from a different contributor “taking nothing away from Spain, their offensive mind set and persistence should be commended.”

(sigh) If only my uncle had been Director of Communications for US Soccer…

Current Mood: Bored With Bad Commentary |

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Sheesh. This was a weekend of non-stop footie action, not all of it riveting all of the time, but exciting stuff nonetheless.

Once again, the Netherlands disappoints. I couldn’t be too upset about their loss because Russia simply blew their doors off. It would have been cruel and unfair to them for the Dutch to have somehow contrived a win in the last twenty minutes or so. The Dutch never got into gear whereas the Russians flew out of the gates. There was only one moment of inspiration from the men in orange near the end of the second half where some nice one-touch passing opened up a chance, but wayward passing and ill-advised long-range shooting was the norm. You can’t play like that and then complain about going out.

Spain vs. Italy proved once again that sometimes the team that deserves to win actually does. To quote from Football365, Italy spent two hours playing for penalties whereas Spain actually tried to win the game. In 6.5 hours of football (4 games + extra time) the magnificent Italians scored a whopping 3 goals (one was a penalty) and finished with a -1 goal difference. They did, however, bring an unparalleled level of diving to the tournament, happily rewarded for their efforts by today’s referee. Good riddance, boys.

Spain wasn’t anything to write home about though. They looked good at times, poor at times, and I didn’t like the double substitution for Xavi and Iniesta for Cazorla and Fábregas, nor did I like the sub of Torres for Güiza, who was awful. Spain vs. Russia will be anything but a cakewalk, even though Spain dispatched them with aplomb 4-1 in the opening round. It’s almost too close to call—if the Russians can keep playing like this. And you’d have to believe they can.

Germany’s through to the finals, except for that pesky game against Turkey between then and now. If Turkey, devastated by injuries and suspensions, can beat the Germans in the semis they would need to make up a new word for “upset.” I would look forward to either a Germany vs. Spain or Germany vs. Russia final, and I do sort of hope that the Turks take their miracle run and kind of go away heading into the semis. Turkey vs. Russia would not be a final to get the blood pumping.

Current Mood: Tired, Tired, Tired |

It is always an honor, a pleasure, and a crowning achievement to contribute to Mediawatch on Football365. Although in fairness it was ESPN2 “analyst” (and I use that word in the broadest sense imaginable) Tommy Smyth doing much of the work…

For those who don’t follow the beautiful game, the joke here (besides the horrific incessant rambling—the commas were added for clarity) is that the Ronaldo who scored against Germany in World Cup 2002 plays for Brazil, whereas the Ronaldo who plays for Portugal and Manchester United is, of course, a completely different person.

My translation of what I think Smyth meant to say goes something like this:

“Ballack must be sick of hearing the name Ronaldo. In 2002, Brazil’s Ronaldo scored two goals against Germany in the final as Ballack watched from the sidelines, out on a yellow card suspension. This past year in club football, Portugal’s Ronaldo helped Manchester United beat Chelsea in the league and scored in their win over Chelsea in the Champion’s League final. And to make things more interesting, Portugal’s manager Big Phil Scolari will be managing Chelsea next season, so Michael Ballack has a lot of motivation to play well today.”

And also on the humor front, I love how Andy Gray smacks down too-happy frat boy Rob Stone on a regular basis. His desire to bang Julie Foudy is clear for all to see too, so it’s a massive understatement to say that Mr. Gray has been a welcome addition to ESPN broadcasts of Euro 2008.

Current Mood: Not A Bad Way to Start Your Friday |

…and good lord, is this tournament delivering it or what? I wasn’t sure who I wanted to see win going in to the quarterfinal between Portugal and Germany, and I cheered every goal. The standard for this tournament has been open, attacking footie and I would have bet the house that things would be sure to settle down in the knockout stages. Let’s hope that the remaining three matches in this round (as well as the two semis and the final) are played in this same spirit. What a game.

I said earlier that I felt the big loser after Germany’s loss to Croatia was Portugal, since they’d have to meet in the quarterfinals and that “‘German resolve’ is a bit of a cliche in the football world, and I can’t imagine Portugal wants to face them at this stage.” This isn’t that earth-shattering prediction since I think a lot of long-time football fans thought the same thing, but many Johnny-come-lately Ronaldo-lovers I think thought that since Portugal had played well and Germany had played poorly in the group stage that Portugal would be favorites. That’s not the way these tournaments historically work.

World Cup 2006 showed us that Germans could play a more flowing style of footie without sacrificing their rather robust play in the midfield and off set pieces. In order to win today, I thought the Germans would need to alienate Ronaldo and then generally bully the rest of the match. Which is more or less what happened. I’m surprised we didn’t see more Nani in the tournament since he appeared to give Portugal another threat going forward (as long as he didn’t shoot from 30 yds out every chance he got) but Ronaldo was a non-factor for most of the game.

Sadly, I think this could also be a preview of Spain vs. Italy, with Portugal playing the role of their Iberian neighbors and Italy being Germany. If they held a tournament where tackling and set pieces weren’t on the menu, I would bet on either Spain or Portugal. The Italians may not have the same kind of midfield strength as the Germans, but I fully expect Luca Toni and whoever else up front to be wearing roller skates and, when combined with unsure and clumsy tackling Spain has shown so far, don’t be surprised if a dive wins another dubious penalty.

But all credit to Germany who executed their game plan to perfection. Worthy 3-2 winners (I put the score way down here in case people who stumble on this post didn’t want to know the result) and they have to be the bookies’ favorite for the final now. Can’t see Croatia beating them twice or Turkey once, and those two square off tomorrow.

Current Mood: Shocked By the Quality of Euro 2008 |